


Tumblr Drabbles

by Gummiebear



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 50,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10058462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gummiebear/pseuds/Gummiebear
Summary: A collection of all the drabbles and prompts I have written on Tumblr





	1. Jersey Girl

**Author's Note:**

>  [tumblr](http://rightnxt2ziam.tumblr.com/)

“Lillian!” Liam yelled as he entered his home after a long day at the office. His job was great, put money in his pocket and food on the table every night. Another upside, he was able to be home each night to cook dinner and tuck his little girl in to bed every night. “Lillian! I’m home!”

Liam heard whispered giggles coming from upstairs and remembered that Lillian had a scheduled play date today. His mum had volunteered to pick her up from school and take her home, monitor the play date, including finishing homework before any actual playing began. He dropped his briefcase on the side table closest to him and toed off his loafers. He loved his job but could do without the uniform. Stuffy suits and ties were not ideal, it beat his old job though, the local garbage man. It too had its perks but wasn’t Liam’s dream goal. A goal that got a little sidetracked when Lillian came into his life a little over seven years ago. He had just turned eighteen, about to start his first year of uni when his summer hookup, Sophia, broke the news to him. She was pregnant and keeping it. Gob smacked is the only word Liam could use to describe how he felt at that moment. In a blink of an eye he saw his entire future vanish. He was going to help Sophia every step of the way because he wanted to, not because he needed to. Liam Payne at eighteen was many things but a deadbeat dad was not one of them. He lucked out, his parents were more than willing to step in when things got too tough, after they got over their initial shock of it all. Sophia never had to ask for anything, whatever she needed was always given to her. Her life was being turned upside down as well. Christmas Eve that year they married in a small ceremony at the local church. Sophia didn’t want anything massive, just close family and a few friends. 

On the fifth of May, Lillian Karen Payne was born and Liam’s life changed forever, in more ways than one. There were complications during the delivery, Sophia’s heart wasn’t strong enough or that’s what the doctors told Liam as they were pushing him out of the delivery room. In another blink of an eye Liam became a father and a widower all at once. He had so many emotions running through him. Overjoyed about the birth of his daughter and utterly distraught over the loss of his wife. He was inconsolable, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. Looking at Lillian hurt him the most. She looked just like her mother, tons of brown hair and big brown eyes that just kept staring up at him in wonder. For the first month of her life, Liam refused to even hold her. It just hurt too much. It was supposed to be them against the world but it was all too much. His family and even Sophia’s mum stepped in and took over, looking after Lillian and Liam every day. In July Liam’s mum had had enough, enough of walking on eggshells around her son. She yelled at him, gave him a talking to that was weeks in the making. Liam’s life was turned upside down, that was a given, but that didn’t give him the right to do that to everyone else’s life. They’d been more than generous in helping him now it was his turn to return the favor and actually become the father he intended to be. 

Over the years things weren’t perfect, no one has a handbook on how to be a single father while still being a teenager. He grieved for his wife every time Lillian did something new, her first word, when she started to crawl and eventually walk and run around. All these firsts were supposed to be experienced as a family. It did get easier though, the pain never went away but it was no longer a constant agony burning in his chest. Liam may be biased but Lillian was probably the best kid to ever have been born. She never fussed or threw temper tantrums, well, not often. After Lillian’s first birthday he moved back into his parents home, they wanted them closer and Liam wasn’t going to argue with that or them. He started uni at the local school up in Wolverhampton while working as the local garage man at nights. It was time consuming and tiresome but more than worth it. His parents had really stepped up and Sophia’s folks came by whenever their time let him. Lillian was filled with an over abundance of love. After four grueling years of school, Liam had graduated top of class and with honors. When he walked the stage to receive his diploma his daughters cheers were the loudest out of the whole noisy room. He was more than proud of himself.  
He landed his job months after graduating, a financial adviser to one of the many tech companies popping up all over Wolverhampton. They were gracious and kind, understanding of Liam’s situation. He was able to drop Lillian off at school and be home in time to feed and bathe her before tucking her in each time. He was also able to afford his own place, mere blocks away from his parents. They stopped by less as time progressed but still were willing to step in and take over the reins when things got overwhelming for Liam. His mum picked Lillian up every day she didn’t after afternoon footie practice, dance class, or a play date. At seven his daughter had a better social life than her father, she always had something she was scheduled to do on the weekend or after school. Liam was lucky he even had friends, if coworkers even counted as friends. And don’t even get him started on the last time he had been on a date. Come to think of it he hasn’t been out with anyone since Sophia died. 

"Hey mum,“ he greeted her warmly with a kiss on her forehead. "How was Lill today at school?”

“Passed her maths test,” Karen boasted proudly. “Only one in her class to get a perfect score.”

“I told you, my baby is a genius,” he joked, sitting across from his mother at the small kitchen table. “Who’s upstairs with her today? I can’t keep her schedule straight nowadays.”  
“Nasir Malik,” Karen rattled off like she was her granddaughter’s walking calendar. 

Liam picked at the tablecloth and he tried to rattle his brain. That name didn’t sound familiar, his daughter had too many friends to keep track of. “Who?”

“Nasir Malik,” she repeated in a huff. “New boy. He moved here about a month ago.”

“My daughter is upstairs alone with a boy!” He shrieked and stood up fast. “Mum! H-why did you okay that idea?”

“Liam,” she chided her son. “Be rational and reasonable. They’re seven, what harm are they going to cause?”

Liam raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I was seven once, I know how seven year old boys think.”

Liam continued to shake his head and his made his way up the stairs and towards his daughter’s room. The door was closed and giggling could still be heard. Uh oh. This was not ideal, not ideal at all. He kept creeping forward, hoping neither children could hear him approaching. He put his hand on the door handle and let out a calming breath. Whatever was on the opposite side of the door wasn’t going to get the better of him, hopefully. 

“Oh my god!”

“Daddy!” Lillian screamed once her father swung the door open. 

Standing in front of Liam was a seven year old boy with his pants around his knees. His daughter was sitting in front of Nasir, her eyes wide and quizzical, that’s when she looked like Sophia the most. No. Memories were not going to sidetrack him from his. “Lillian Karen Payne!”

“Daddy,” she repeated, still shocked. “Nasir’s thing doesn’t look like yours.”

Liam let out a breath, trying not laugh at his little girls innocence and trying to calm his now boiling blood. “Young man, pull up your pants and I want both of you downstairs now!”  
Minutes later both kids sat in front of him on the couch as he sat on the coffee table. He ran downstairs and dismissed his mother after telling her what happened. Karen tried to control her laughter as she left, patting her sons cheeks as she departed. Now Liam had to talk to these kids without being embarrassed himself. He had just caught a seven year old boy with his pants down around his daughter. This definitely wasn’t in the parents handbook he still desperately needed. 

“What are you intentions with my daughter?” He asked Nasir. He tried to keep a straight and stern face but the poor kid looked he was going to piss his pants.

“Huh?” Nasir asked, looking up at Liam through his long lashes.

“Daddy!” Lillian exclaimed in embarrassment. “Stop!”

“Young man, what you did was not appropriate, not now, not ever,” Liam scolded him. “I’m going to have to talk to your parents.”

“No, don’t,” he begged, his bottom lip quivering in fear. “Please. My abbu will kill me. Please Mr. Payne, you can’t tell him.”

Liam stood up and nodded his head firmly. “I’m going to need to speak to him son, sorry.”

Waiting for Nasir’s father to arrive was tense. Both kids remained in the living room, sitting on the couch where Liam could keep a close eye on them. Pacing back and forth to look menacing, when in reality he had no idea what he was doing. Mr. Malik had answered the phone and laughed when Liam relayed the story, promising to come by as soon as possible. Five minutes after they phone was hung up Mr. Malik arrived and knocked the breath out of him. He was absolutely gorgeous. He now knew where Nasir got his eyelashes from. He introduced himself as Zayn. He didn’t look much older than Liam was, another young parent in the mix. 

“Sorry,” Zayn apologized as soon as he arrived. “I don’t know where he got this idea from.”

“It’s okay,” Liam assured him. “I’m raising Lillian alone so I don’t even know the protocol for all this.”

“Same,” Zayn replied. “Since he was three it’s just me and Nasir, raising a child all alone should come with a pamphlet.”

Liam’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes got wide instantly. A young parent and also a single parent? Things were certainly looking up for Liam today. He sighed to try and compose himself as he kept looking at the kids who still sat on the couch looking sad and obviously regretting their decisions. “I say that all the time to me mum. Try raising a little girl all alone, even harder.”

“They’re kids,” Zayn reasoned with Liam and he leaned against the refrigerator. He limbs looking longer as he reclined a little. Dark ink peeking out from under his shirtsleeves and his collar. A nose ring shining against the dull kitchen light. “Things like this are bound to happen I guess.”

Liam shrugged, unable to form words due to his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth and his throat feeling dry. “I-I guess.”

Zayn pushed himself off the fridge and shoved his hands in his frayed jeans. “We should do this again?”

“This?” Liam squawked. “Our kids with their pants down, again?”

“No,” Zayn laughed, his tongue pressed behind his teeth, laugh lines by his eyes. Truly adorable. “A play date but with both of us monitoring the rascals.”

“Yea-yeah,” Liam agreed rather quickly. If he had any pride left he would’ve been embarrassed by how quickly he agreed to Zayn’s offer. 

“Good,” Zayn nodded and walked towards the living room and his son. “Come in Nasir, time to go home. Say goodbye to Lillian and Mr. Payne.”

“Bye,” he said to them, how voice low and his head hung in shame. “See you at school tomorrow Lillian.”

“Bye Nasir,” she told him, her voice echoing the little boys. Clearly they both had learned some sort of lesson from today’s events. 

Liam let Zayn and Nasir out, not even caring how obvious he was being as he obviously checked Zayn out as he walked away and towards his car. He didn’t even mind that Zayn turned his head around and winked in Liam’s direction before turning the corner with his son in tow.


	2. The Conjuring 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off of Liam's tweet about watching The Conjuring 2 on TV

“Jesus Christ,” Niall mumbled mostly to himself as he entered the apartment. He knew what he was walking into the moment his phone buzzed with the notification almost a half hour ago.

“Nialler!” Zayn greeted him warmly, wide smile on his face. He picked up the remote from where it was laying next to him. He paused the movie even when there were protests in the room. “How was Fallon?”

“Jimmy’s a gem,” he replied, toeing off his shoes and shedding his coat. “Always gracious to us over the years.”

“Want to watch with us?” Zayn asked, pointing to the tv with the remote that was still in his hand.

Niall eyed the television cautiously and then the love seat, shaking his head. “I’m gonna shower, maybe catch the end when I’m done. Okay?”

Zayn nodded as his eyes followed Niall’s movements as he made his way into his bedroom, the shower starting minutes later.

“We gonna finish this or not? You too busy playing big brother or something?”

“Sorry,” Zayn apologized, shaking his head. “Just glad Nialler is here with us, you know?”

“It beats staying at a hotel,” Liam noted. “We got the extra room for this very reason, remember?”

“I know,” he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. He pressed play on the remote and snuggled tighter into Liam’s chest. “I don’t know why you wanted to watch this. You hate scary movies.”

“I’ve got my teddy bear to cuddle with just in case things get to be too much,” Liam said, placing a kiss to the top of Zayn’s head.

Zayn looked up at Liam, raising his eyebrows with a smile on his face. “I can recall correctly that I’ve publicly called you my teddy bear, Liam.”

“Shhh!” He shushed him, finger to his lips. “The movie is on.”

The two remained relatively quiet while the movie played, the sound of Niall’s shower and him getting dressed the only other noise in the apartment. It was quiet night in, the cold weather in New York to harsh to go outside and do anything remotely productive. Liam suggested watching The Conjuring 2 seeing it was on some cable channel. Zayn wasn’t going to say no, a scary movie usually led to cuddling, which he was never going to turn down. They knew Niall was set to arrive after filming Jimmy Fallon and wanting to see the bloody Rockefeller Christmas tree like a tourist. They ordered Thai food from the shop around the corner, making sure to get something to Niall even though they all knew he’d bitch and complain that he either wasn’t hungry or could get his own food. Whatever. They were family and families fed each other and looked after their own. Before starting the movie, while Liam tweeted about it, Zayn sent his nightly texts to both Harry and Louis. Texts to them had always been sporadic throughout the years, now since Jay’s passing it had now become a part of Zayn’s routine. He usually ate supper, brushed his teeth, and text Louis and Harry. He rarely got a response until the next morning but he was never really searching for one anyway.

“You sleeping?” Liam whispered.

“Hmm?”

“You tired, love?” He asked. “You got up early today, want to just stop the movie and head to bed?”

“I’m okay,” he promised. “Just lost in thought is all.”

“Anything I can help you with?” Liam continued to whisper.

Zayn looked up at Liam and smiled, he truly loved this man. Any problem, no matter how small, he was more than willing to rectify it. “No. Just keep holding me and watch the movie, even though you’re the scared one.”

“Horror movies freak me out!” He defended himself in a hushed tone. He sighed at Zayn’s deadpanned glare. “Yeah, I know I suggested it.”

“Can I join? Offer still stands?” Niall’s voice broke into the hushed tones. He walked timidly towards the single chair that faced the tv. He didn’t wait for an answer before grabbing at the styrofoam containers that held his Thai food. He tried to eat as quietly as possible, letting Liam and Zayn enjoy the movie.

“Stop,” Zayn giggled, Liam’s hand ghosting up his back, nails digging into his spine. “Leeyum.”

“I’m scared Zed,” Liam pouted, jutting his bottom lip forward. It always worked.

“Liar,” Zayn laughed, leaning up and forward to kiss Liam. “But you’re still cute.”

“Oh for god's sake,” Niall cursed around the stir fry in his mouth. “I actually want to enjoy the food, mates.”

“Oops,” Liam laughed. “Sorry Ni, forgot you were here for a moment.”

“Story of my life,” he rolled his eyes, especially when he realized the pun. “Just keep the love fest to a minimum, yeah?”

“Will do,” Zayn promised, burying his face into Liam’s chest.

“Just like tour,” Niall muttered to himself. “That’s why he got two buses.”


	3. Christmas Holiday

“Zayn, wake up,” Liam tried to coax his fiancé gently. He knew he was a horrible person in the morning, especially when he was forced awake, but Liam was more than willing to take his chances, especially today.

“Go away,” Zayn rasped out, his voice raw and thick with sleep. He closed his eyes tighter, fighting the light that was peering in the room through the cracks in the shades.

“I’m not taking that personal,” Liam reminded him, running a delicate hand down Zayn’s bare side, long fingers ghosting past his ribs and landing on his hip.

“Liam,” he gasped, feeling the goose bumps start to form in the wake of Liam’s touch. “Yo-you’re not playing fair.”

“Oh well,” he laughed, leaning down to kiss Zayn’s cheek before moving to his neck and collarbone. “You need to wake up.”

“Too comfy,” he tried to fight again. “But you can continue.”

Liam huffed out a breath that vibrated off Zayn’s skin, sending a shiver down his spine. “I didn’t spend thousands of dollars for you to spend all weekend in bed.”

“Too bad,” he laughed. “Finally a weekend away and you expect me to be adventurous when all I want to do is sleep.”

“Zayn,” Liam whined, gently biting his collarbone, a hiss of pain and pleasure echoing the bare room. “We can spend all night in bed doing things we both enjoy but now it’s time to be adventurous. It’s gorgeous outside, love.”

Against his better judgment and his joy in riling up Liam, Zayn opened his eyes. Liam was resting his head on his chest, his fingers still ghosting across his skin, the goose bumps still evident in its wake. “I’m awake. You owe me.”

Liam lifted his head and looked directly into Zayn’s eyes, taking him all in for a moment. The beauty of this man lying on the bed, every sharp angle, every perfect curve of his face and body. Still till this day Liam couldn’t believe how lucky he got. “I’ll make my up to you by the fire tonight. Deal?”

“A new kink Mr. Payne?” He asked with a smirk on his lips and tried to wiggle his eyebrows, he wasn’t that smooth so early in the morning. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

Okay so maybe it wasn’t that early, sue a man for sleeping in on his first day of a week long holiday. “What’s your master plan for today, babe?”  
Zayn regretted asking that question the moment he stepped outside. On paper the idea of spending a week away in a secluded cabin in the woods of upstate New York sounded amazing. The actuality of it wasn’t as glamorous. It was snowing when they arrived the night before, nothing outrageous, just a small amount of flurries to set the wintery mood. Overnight though, the flurries turned into close to two feet of fresh powder. The owners of the cabin must’ve shoveled around the property but walking around the woods, nothing was touched. It was beautiful, the sun high in the sky beaming down on the untouched snow. Both men snapped pictures to remember their time. A small hike was all Liam said when he told Zayn to dress warm and wear sturdy but comfortable boots. The hike took them into the depths of the woods that surrounded their home for the next week. The sights were picturesque, small animal prints in the snow the deeper they walked, the sounds of nature around them. Some people could see this as romantic, not Zayn. The sentiment was felt but the cold was felt more. Liam grabbing his hand tighter for warmth was a highlight though. He was so animated when he spoke about the trees and the area in general, someone obviously read the guide book that was on the coffee table when they arrived the night before.

Zayn never vocalized his complaints though, didn’t want to ruin the perfect mood Liam was in. It was hard to spend quality time together so he was going to treasure it, not matter what scenario they were in. Work and other obligations had pulled them away from each other too much this year. It seemed as soon as Zayn flew into London Liam was flying out. Always just missing each other by days, sometimes even hours. This was something both boys weren’t use to, living in each other pockets for almost five straight years before their separation. Skype and FaceTime had to become their new best friends, the easiest way to see and talk to each other. They did get some reprieve from time to time, seeing each other here and there for maybe a day at a time every few months. But now, now they had a whole week together alone. No interruptions, no responsibilities whatsoever. It was something to be treasured and remembered.

“You cold?” Liam asked once they finally arrived back to the cabin.

Zayn shook off the snow that accumulated in his hair onto the floor. “N-no. I’m good.”

“Babe,” he chided him with a fond smile. Liam shrugged off his jacket before placing it on the coat rack and kicked off his big chunky boots. “There’s a blizzard happening outside, it’s okay to be cold.”

“I’m freezing,” he confessed, sighing as he spoke as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He too disrobed, following in Liam’s footsteps with his jacket and boots. “We have anything hot to drink?”

Liam milled about the cabin, searching for whatever in the pantry. “Hot chocolate, perfect. Sit by the fire and I’ll make it.”

Zayn followed Liam’s instructions, taking a seat on the huge leather seats that were strategically placed in front of the fireplace. Only thing that was missing was a bearskin rug to really set the mood, or ruin it by staring at a lifeless bears head. Liam had the hot chocolate, passing Zayn a cup when he made his way over. The fire was started as the two of them just sat and watched the wood burn, hearing it crack the hotter it got. It really felt like a scene out of some romantic holiday movie.

“Thank you for this,” Zayn broke the silence, placing his mug down on the table that was between them.

“It’s just water and a mix,” Liam snorted. “Not brain surgery.”

“Liam,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Not the chocolate, even though it is nice. All of this, the weekend away, the cabin in the woods, the fire.”

Liam shook his head, placing his mug down on the table. He stood up, walking over to where Zayn sat and kneeled in front of me, resting on his heels. He placed his hands on Zayn’s legs, rubbing small circles on the inside of his thighs with his thumbs. “You deserve this, love. All of this.”

“We deserve this,” he was quick to correct him, running a lazy hand through Liam’s shaggy unkempt hair.

“Yeah, true,” Liam reluctantly agreed, sighing at the feel of Zayn’s fingers on his scalp. The blunt nails feeling good after a long day in the cold woods.

“Lay down,” Zayn instructed, using his free hand to gently push Liam on the floor and down on the rug. He stood up himself and crawled over to Liam. “I love you.”

“Is this you trying to be sexy and romantic?” Liam asked, a smile wide on his face.

“Just repaying you for today,” he replied. “Especially this morning in bed.”

Liam nodded, getting himself comfortable on the rug, placing his hands behind his head. “Continue.”

Zayn let out a guttural laugh and shook his head. How did he get so lucky? To find someone that complimented him so completely at such a young age. His equal in so many ways of life. He kissed along Liam’s jaw, biting every few kisses just to hear the groan escape Liam’s mouth. Liam carded his fingers through Zayn’s hair, pulling every time Zayn bit at his jaw. Liam was clearly getting impatient with Zayn’s teasing.

“Babe,” he groaned, pulling at Zayn’s hair again. “I love what you’re doing, honestly, but I would love if you sped things up.”

“Ungrateful,” he muttered affectionately, kissing up Liam’s face, his cheek, his nose, his now closed eyelids.

“Zayn.”

“Ungrateful,” he repeated, this time his words echoing off Liam’s mouth.

He leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first to just feel Liam’s lips on his. It had been too long since they were just able to savor the feel of each other. Every time they were together recently had been rushed, the kisses, the sex, the conversations. Zayn wanted to take his time now. They had all week to learn about each other all over again and he was going to do just that. Liam’s and his impatience just had get use to it. He deepened the kiss as he straddled Liam’s thighs, now both hands ghosting up his sides, sending a shiver down Liam’s spine as he jutted his hips forward.

“Li-Liam, slow,” Zayn begged breathlessly.

“Too long,” Liam whined, bucking up again.

“We’ve got all week, jaan,” he spoke softly. “All week.”


	4. American Music Awards

He was being pushed and pulled into a million directions it seemed. People lining the halls backstage pointing his way towards the press room. Zayn wasn’t nervous but everything still felt so new to him. He could do a sit down interview for a magazine, call into a radio station for a chat, hell, he just accepted an award in front of national television. Standing and talking to hoards of reporters by himself for a few minutes seemed like a daunting task. The hallway felt like it went on forever, faintly hearing the clicks of the camera shutters and the yelling out of questions to whomever was in the press room at the moment. He finally arrived at the room and was told to wait as Bryce Harper was wrapping up his interviews. That was probably the most nerve wracking, the waiting.

“Shit,” he cursed as he felt his phone being to vibrate. He began to dig around his pocket for it. He had a few moments to kill before he was needed, he could answer it. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”

“And your phone was supposed to go to voicemail.”

“True,” he replied with a laugh. “I’m just waiting to go into the press room. I’ve got a few minutes to chat.”

“You did it babe. I knew you would but I’m so proud of you.”

“Liam,” he sighed. “We both knows these things are predetermined for ratings.”

“Who cares?” Liam exclaimed. “Ratings or not, you deserved this.”

“It’s pretty wicked,” he agreed, a smile on his face. “It’s gonna have my name on it and everything, love.”

“The speech was ace too,” Liam told him, shifting around on the king sized bed he usually shared with Zayn back in London. Tonight feeling lonely after spending the past few weeks together in their Los Angeles home. “Yaser is going to be thrilled with the double shoutout.”

“I had to erase that man from my life for five years,” he huffed. “He deserves all the praise I give him.”

“You’re preaching to the choir here babe,” he chuckled. “Don’t need to explain yourself to me. Your speech was genuine, honest. I loved it.”

“I can’t believe I won an award,” he sighed, still overwhelmed by everything and everyone around him. “I won an award and I’m sitting next to Sting. What kind of night is this?”

“I told you this back in March that everything that’s happening right now is because you’ve earned it, you deserve it,” Liam gently reminded him. “Teyana calling you Zaddy is something we’ll have to discuss at a later date.”

“Liam,” he hissed in embarrassment, his face feeling hot instantly. He tried to hide his face from anyone passing by him, it was going to give him right away if anyone paid close attention to him. “I-I’m in public.”

“I know,” he slyly laughed. “We’ll talk about that once you’re back home. For right now let’s focus on my award winning fiancé.”

“It’s so sick,” he realized. “I’m coming home tomorrow and we can celebrate proper, yeah?”

“Whatever you want, love,” he told him. “Get a huge banner by the foyer so you can see it as soon as you enter. Balloons and all that frilly stuff. Glitter, lots and lots of glitter.”

“Liam,” he chided him. Zayn knew that once Liam went on one of his tangents there was no stopping him. He had limited time to be on the phone and right now wasn’t a good time for Liam to space out. “I’ve gotta go, I’m being stared at by angry press people.”

“Go be a superstar, Zed,” he said. “I’ll start making party preparations, call the lads and our family so it’s ready when you get home.”

Zayn bit his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud and causing a commotion. He really did love this boy, his antics included. “Have fun with that Li. I’ll talk to you before I leave, okay. I love you.”

Liam sighed, hearing those words come out from Zayn’s mouth never got old and he hoped it never did. “Love you too. Enjoy the rest of your night and tell Horan I said hi. I miss that little Irish bugger.”

“Will do,” he replied, raising his free hand to the assistant that was now staring at him harder. Someone was in an obvious hurry. “Goodnight sweetheart.”

“Night Zaddy.”

Zayn stood there in shock, his mouth gaping open. He could hear Liam’s laugh still ringing in his ear even though he abruptly hung up after saying goodnight. Oh, he was so dead when Zayn got home. He also needed to make sure that nickname wasn’t going to stick because once Harry and Louis got a hold of that information there was no stopping any of them honestly. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket, taking a deep breath as he accepted the award the assistant handed him before heading into the press room. He could handle this, he had all the support he needed around him. Even though none of the lads were physically around him he knew that they all had his back. Especially his love that was almost six thousand miles away from him.  
 


	5. Solo Liam

“Five minutes.”

Liam nodded his head at Paddy, not really knowing what the man said, as he continued to pace back and forth in makeshift dressing room. He was so nervous, palms sweating, heartbeat picking up, mind running rampant with thoughts he didn’t want to have. None of this was new to him, but it was. He was doing this alone, by himself for the first time in his career. The little surprise performances in Las Vegas was just that, a surprise. Singing along to Drake and other artists in front of thousands of drunk party goers didn’t bother him, he’d done it before. But this, this moment was something he’s dreamt about since he was a little child back in Wolverhampton. Everything he ever wanted was going to be fulfilled in this exact moment. Liam chuckled to himself to calm his nerves, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was looping around his head, the lyrics making so much more sense to him now. He could do this, he knows he could do this. All the lads had called him to extend their support, reassuring Liam that they’ll be watching and most certainly tweeting about it. Their support meant the world to him, it truly did. Knowing his brothers had his back like they all did with Niall and his first solo song. They rallied behind each other, that’s what they always did and will continue to do.

“Shit, did I miss it?”

Liam finally stopped pacing, betting that he wore the carpet down completely. He looked up at the voice and broke out into a beaming smile. “Zayn!”

“Did I? Did I miss it?” He asked, rushing into the room looking panicked.

“No,” Liam assured him, shaking his head. “I’ve got a few minutes before I go on.”

“Good, good,” he nodded. He took two steps forward and was now face to face with Liam. He traced Liam’s features with his thumb, a comforting gesture. Something to calm to down before a big performance. “You’re gonna smash this babe.”

“I’m nervous,” he whispered, like it was secret for just the two of them to know.

Zayn dropped his hand and rested his forehead against Liam’s. “I know. It’s okay. It’ll all be okay.”

“How’d you do it?” He asked. “Fight the nerves and crush it.”

“You’re allowed to be nervous,” he told him. “If you’re not nervous, you’re doing this for the wrong reason. Remember what you told me before my first performance on Fallon?”

“I love you.”

Zayn rolled his eyes and smiled. “Besides that.”

“You’re finally getting to be your authentic self, the man I fell in love with all those years ago. And if-if no one else likes what you’re doing at least you stayed true to who you really are,” he rattled off like he was rehearsed.

“They need you Payno,” Paddy’s voice interrupted the duo. “Good to see you made it, Malik.”

Zayn shifted his attention momentarily to Paddy and smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Time to go Liam,” Paddy repeated. “Your public awaits.”

“Okay,” he nodded, letting out a sigh. “I’m ready.”

“You’ve got it,” Zayn reminded him. “You’re prepared, you’re amazing.”

“I love you.”

Zayn quickly and chastely kissed Liam, both boys smiling wide as they parted. “I’ll be here when you’re finished. Watching on the TV the whole time. Go on and crush it babe. You’ve got this.”

“Thank you,” he replied, squeezing Zayn’s hand one last time before following Paddy out the room.


	6. Time Difference

Liam groaned at the incessant ringing of his phone. He usually put it on vibrate before he went to sleep, seeing now that he had the luxury of sleeping in late. Because now he was back in Los Angeles while everyone was still in the U.K., he usually kept his phone on loud on the off chance someone may need him. He got a text from Niall a couple hours before letting him know that he safely arrived in Los Angeles. Louis and Harry just got back to London after their much needed vacation to the Maldives. The only person he hadn’t heard from was Zayn, who was relaxing back in their Surrey mansion before he had a press tour to embark on. So, whoever was calling Liam at this ungodly hour better be dead or dying by the time he found his phone. He blindly searched for it, laying on his back while his hand groped anything and everything on the bedside table. The longer it took him to find it, the louder the ringer seemed to get.

“Hello?” He croaked out once he finally found his phone. He didn’t even check to see who was calling, just desperate to shut the loud sound off.

“Did you mean it?”

Liam sighed and scrubbed at his face with his free hand, feeling a smile creep across his sleepy features. “Babe.”

“Did you mean it?” Zayn’s warm, bubbly voice repeated. “The Instagram post I mean.”

“I know what you meant,” Liam assured him, his voice still coming out rough due to sleep.

“So?” He coaxed.

“You called me at three in the morning to ask me this? When I posted the picture hours ago,” he fondly groaned, the smile still evident on his face.

“Some of us do go to sleep at a decent hour, Liam,” he playfully teased. “I just saw it and wanted to make sure.”

Liam softly laughed as he sat up on the bed, his back resting against the headboard. “Yes I mean it. I’ve always meant it.”

“But the caption-”

“Was not my doing, you know that,” he told him.

“Classic Payno shade,” Zayn laughed. “You couldn’t of possibly loved me before even liking me.”

“You’re so daft sometimes babe,” Liam laughed. “The way you cared for me, about me, when no one else did. That, that made me fall in love with you before I even realized what I was feeling.”

“Liam-”

“It’s true,” he interrupted him. “You were so patient and reassuring as I sorted myself and my feelings out. Always told me to take my time. That you’ll be waiting until I figured everything out.”

“It’s still true,” Zayn reminded him fondly. “Hell, I’d still be waiting now if I needed to. There’s no one else for me, just you Liam.”

“Same,” Liam concluded. “It just took my brain a little longer to catch up to my heart.”

“When are you coming home?” He asked with a plead. “I miss you, Jaan.”

Liam rested his head against the headboard with a sigh. He hated being separated from Zayn, especially after spending the majority of last year apart. Now that they had more free time it seemed even harder to be together. They had their moments when they could sneak off and enjoy a holiday but with recording and promotion creeping up on them, it seemed to get harder and harder to make time for each other. “Soon. I’ll be home soon.”

“Not soon enough,” he admitted with a sigh. “Go back to sleep babe. Sorry to wake you, just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Never apologize for waking me up, Zayn,” he told him. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”


	7. My roommates boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off this prompt:
> 
> My roommate’s boyfriend is staying over so can I please sleep on your floor

Zayn knew he was going to get little to no sleep the minute Louis announced that Harry was coming home. Harry had spent the last six weeks in some exotic location for some archaeological dig for school. Zayn didn’t know why someone would willingly fly halfway across the world to play in some dirt, but to each his own. Louis was miserable for those entire six weeks, more miserable than he usually was. Moaning and groaning about how he missed his boyfriend and how he kept missing his calls because of the time difference. It was aggravating and most nights Zayn had to console his friend while he pretended he wasn’t crying himself to sleep over everything. Now things were changing quickly. Harry’s flight was set to arrive that night and instead of going back home he was coming right to his and Louis’s flat. Louis muttered something about taking a long sabbatical from work to make up for lost time. Whatever he meant, Zayn didn’t really want a front row seat for it. He willed himself to fall asleep early, like as soon as Louis left for the airport early. He was a night owl, he got his best work done as the sun was about to rise. Now he was forcing himself to sleep before the sun was even fully set. Louis was going to owe him big time for this. 

Miraculously Zayn actually fell asleep, sadly it didn’t last long. He checked his phone to see the time and was shocked to learn that it was only midnight. He tried to listen to see if Louis had returned from then airport with Harry. It was quiet in the flat, too quiet actually. Like all good things in Zayn’s life, the silence didn’t last very long. Sure enough he started to hear hushed voices followed by Harry’s loud laugh. He loved Louis, he really did, but tonight he hated that he shared a wall with his best mate. Luckily all that he was hearing from the room next door was laughter but the rational part of Zayn’s mind knew that probably wasn’t going to last much longer. He couldn’t blame Harry and Louis though, they just spent the last six weeks apart, the deserved their reunion time. Zayn just wished it wasn’t in his flat but then again Harry also had a flatmate that he more than likely didn’t want to disturb with being up all hours of the night. Now that he had a few moments of clear thinking Zayn realized he should’ve just crashed with Niall instead of being cooped up in his room all night. It was too late now and he was too tired to pack up a few things and make the trek across town. 

Zayn tossed and turned a few times, trying to find a comfortable position. He repositioned his pillows so one was covering his ears at all time, just in case he heard anything. Nothing was working or helping him get back to sleep. He could put in his headphones and have the music drown out whatever noise was coming from the next room but the only way Zayn could fall asleep was with complete silence. Music was great to drown out the constant noise in his life during the day but at night he needed to hear a pin drop to actually fall asleep. It was useless. Nothing was helping or working. With a defeated sigh escaping his lips he stood up, grabbing his favorite blanket and made his way out his bedroom. He tip toed his way around the article of clothing thrown around the floor and Harry’s luggage resting against the couch. Yeah, he needed to get out of here and fast if he was going to get any sleep. One problem though. Where was he going to go? He and Louis weren’t the best of tenants, meaning a lot of his neighbors didn’t really like him. 

The apartment next to theirs was Mr. Franklin who was a nice old man, a widower, kept to himself much. He must have an extra bedroom or couch for Zayn to crash on. Zayn stood outside his apartment door, his blanket draped around his shoulders as he scanned all the doors around him. Mr. Franklin was a nice man but his flat always had a fishy smell coming from it at all hours of the day. If he made the hallway smell as bad as it did he couldn’t imagine what his actual home smelt like. There went that option. Onto the next one. For the life of him Zayn couldn’t recall the names of anymore of his neighbors, maybe that’s why he and Louis were hated so much by everyone. The only reason he knew Mr. Franklin was because of his fishy smell, a real great way to remember people. Zayn was about to give up and just sleep up against the wall, at this point uncomfortable sleep was better than not sleeping at all. That was until he remembered that he and Louis had gotten a new neighbor recently. A young guy, Zayn had seen him downstairs doing laundry not too long ago. He was cute and he Zayn knew for a fact that he had a couch, Niall had helped him carry it up the stairs when he was moving it. Jackpot. It was a fall proof situation. 

Swallowing his pride Zayn gripped his blanket tighter before knocking on his young neighbors door. Hoping and praying he was either still awake or could hear the knock. He shuffled back and forth from foot to foot as he waiting, stifling a yawn. He looked at his own front door and hoped Louis and Harry were enjoying themselves while he was miserable. 

“He-hello.”

Zayn’s head shot forward as the door opened. “Hi. You don’t know me but I need your couch.”

“Excuse me?” The man asked, rubbing at his eyes. It was obvious that Zayn had woke him up, his hair was askew, falling flat on his head. The dead give away? He was just standing there in a pair of boxer briefs. 

“I need your couch,” he repeated like it was a statement he said daily. Zayn didn’t notice when this lad moved in but wow he was beautiful. Beautiful wasn’t an adjective he used often, especially to describe another guy, but it was the only one that truly fit. 

“For?” He prompted him. He scratched at his bare stomach and blushed once he realized he was just standing around in his pants. 

“My best friends boyfriend is staying over,” he sighed. “They haven’t seen each other in six weeks so they’re making up for lost time, if your catch my drift.”

“And why do you need my couch?” He asked, still confused. 

“Or floor,” Zayn added. “My walls are thin and I love Lou but that’s a side of him I don’t really want to hear, you know?”

The bloke stood there, blinking a few times to wake himself up and try to understand Zayn’s request. He opened his mouth to speak again but closed it quickly. Maybe it was being woken up while he was in a deep sleep but this whole situation was bizarre. 

“I was going to ask Mr. Franklin but his place smells like fish,” Zayn explained, letting out a laugh as he spoke. This was all a bit surreal, something you only saw in movies. 

“It does!” The guy exclaimed in agreement. “I was always wondering where that smell came from when I first moved in. It’s ridiculous.”

“So, can I crash?” He asked again, purposely batting his eyelashes at the bloke. He was desperate at this point and really tired. “I’ll be out by morning, you won’t even notice I’m there. Promise.”

“Fine,” he eventually gave in with a defeated sigh, opening his door further for both of them to enter. “I assume the set up is the same as yours. Couch isn’t that comfortable.”

“It’s fine,” Zayn told him with a shrug. “Umm I-I never got what your name was.”

“Liam,” he introduced himself, offering his hand for Zayn to shake. “You’re Zayn, right?”

“That’s me,” he smiled, laying his blanket down on the couch. “Thanks again for letting me crash. I promise it’ll never happen again.”

“It’s fine,” Liam assured him. “Good night, Zayn.”

“Night Liam.”

Liam was right in saying the couch was uncomfortable but Zayn wasn’t going to complain. At this point he realized beggars couldn’t be choosers. He tossed and turned for a few minutes, trying to find a perfect position to sleep in. He was over exhausted by the time he actually did pass out. He didn’t need much anyway, he had his blanket and that was more than enough for him. He woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready for the day ahead. He just hoped that Louis and Harry were considerate enough to let him back into his place to shower and get himself ready for the day ahead. Zayn checked the time on the cable box and saw that he was a quarter past eight, way too early for him to be awake on his day off. He let out a defeated sigh as he stood up and surveyed his surroundings. Liam’s set up wasn’t that different than his and Louis’s, maybe just a little bit cleaner. Finding the bathroom to relieve his bladder was no problem. As he washed his hands Zayn was trying to think of a way to repay Liam for his hospitality. He basically let a complete stranger crash at his place with few questions asked. There wasn’t many options for Zayn, the only logical one was to cook him breakfast or something to that effect. He maneuvered his way around the kitchen with no problem, everything seemed to be in a convenient place to find. There wasn’t much in the way of food but Zayn made do with what he could find. 

“What?”

Zayn smiled at the sound of Liam’s stunned voice when he entered the room. He spun around, keeping a watchful eye on the stove. “Morning.”

“Are you cooking?” Liam asked, rubbing at his eyes. He had put on joggers before entering the room, what a shame. 

“Pancakes, you had enough things to make them,” Zayn explained. “Hope that’s okay. And there’s coffee in the pot for you too.”

“Thank you,” he replied, walking around the room effortlessly to make himself a cup of coffee. “You didn’t have to do any of this you know.”

“I know,” Zayn agreed, turning his attention back to the pancakes. He flipped over the few on the skillet, proud of himself that none had dropped or burnt, yet. “It’s the least I could do seeing you let me crash here last night.”

Liam leaned up against the counter closest to Zayn, sipping his coffee. “I told you last night, it’s no big deal. We’re neighbors, yeah. It’s a thing people do.”

“Yeah but I probably sounded like a crazy person,” he laughed. “Asking you to crash on your couch because my best mate was getting laid.”

“We’ve all been there,” Liam laughed along with him. “So pancakes?”

“You didn’t have a waffle maker,” Zayn joked, placing the now fully cooked cakes on a plate. He turned off the skillet and walked over to the tiny dining table with his coffee in hand. “You like pancakes, right?”

“Mate, who doesn’t like pancakes,” Liam responded, sitting next to Zayn at the table. “No one's ever made me breakfast before. Besides me mum and nan.”

“Thanks for putting the pressure on a bloke,” Zayn grinned. “I’m not ace at cooking but I do know my way around a kitchen.”

Liam gave him a judgmental side eye as he poured syrup on his food before taking a bite. He chewed and kept looking over a Zayn. He nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“You’re officially allowed to come over every morning and cook for me,” Liam concluded. 

Zayn surveyed Liam’s expression for a few seconds, wondering if the boy was lying. He looked honest and sincere. Actually he looked beautiful, better than he did the night before. His hair was still askew, softly disheveled on top of his head. But now he looked refreshed, a good night's sleep under his belt. Zayn didn’t even dare looked in a mirror while he was in the bathroom, didn’t want to see what kind of mess he looked like after he woke up.

“I’m joking,” Liam’s voice knocked Zayn out of his haze. “Unless you want to of course.”

“Oh, I want to,” he blurted out. Zayn could feel the blush creeping up his neck and cheeks, how embarrassing. “I-I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that if you ever want me to cook again I wouldn’t say no.”

Liam laughed and squeezed Zayn’s hand quickly as a reassurance. “I understood. I mean I wouldn’t argue with you if you wanted to just pop by whenever you felt like it.”

“Yeah?” Zayn asked a little shocked, blush still evident on his face. “I’d like that actually.”

“Good,” Liam concluded, sitting further back in his seat, placing his hands behind his head. “So we’ve come to an agreement. You cook for me and I flirt with you horribly.”

Zayn raised his eyebrow at the statement, trying to contain the flutter in his stomach at Liam’s words. It did sound like a pretty good deal if he was being honest. Getting to spend an insurmountable amount of time with a guy he was interested in getting to know, sounded like a winning solution. “Deal.”   
 


	8. The Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prompt based on this: “It’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion.”

Partying was so useless, but Liam knew it was sadly a part of being on the football team. Louis and Niall had already threatened to literally drag him down to the pub if he didn’t agree to go. So, Liam was stood in front of his full length mirror trying to figure out what to wear. He was never one to fuss over his clothes but maybe tonight Liam wanted to look nice. He deserved it. After a long week of classes and practice and a successful first home game, leaving with a win. He huffed as he threw his shirt off and shook his head, nothing seemed to look right. It had to be easier than this. He was wearing a pair of simple black jeans, everything matched with it. God, he was so embarrassed. If Louis saw him now he’d never let Liam forget how he was currently acting. Walking to his dresser he pulled out another shirt, a simple red and black plaid button up. He shrugged it on and stood in front of his mirror once more. Okay, maybe this outfit wasn’t so bad after all. He approved of his reflection before lacing up his boots and spraying his cologne along his neck and chest. Simple but not overpowering. 

“Payno!”

Liam rolled his eyes as Louis let himself into his room, there was never any privacy with this guy was there. “Welcome Tommo, Nialler.”

“You done yet?” Niall asked, leaning up against the door frame looking as bored as he sounded. 

“Yeah,” Liam responded, grabbing his keys and wallet off the table. “Remind me again why I’m going with you?”

“Because you’re a boring old man who needs to go out more,” Louis told him and pushed them out the door, literally. 

“And because partying is a healthy part of uni life,” Niall added, closing the door behind them before they made their way towards the dorm exit. 

“If you want my opinion-”

“It’s a real shame no one asked you for your opinion,” Louis sharply interrupted Liam’s inevitable rant. 

Niall tried to hide his laugh behind his hand but it was useless, he doubled over with his hands on his knees, laughing out loud. “Jeez, Tommo. Couldn’t you be a tad nicer?”

“It’s not my fault Payno here acts like an old man when he’s only twenty,” Louis argued weakly. “He needs to go out and mingle with other people besides us. I know Horan and I are class acts but you know, it’s uni.”

“Somehow that makes sense,” Liam laughed, shaking his head as they continued walking and he tried to keep up with Louis’s tangent. 

The pub was shockingly crowded for an early Thursday night. It looked to be filled with almost everyone who attend the same uni as Liam. The entire football team seemed huddled together, taking up the two biggest booths in the back, yelling to each other even though they all sat mere feet from each other. Liam loved his teammates, they easily became his second family, people for him to turn to seeing he was so far away from home now. Louis and Niall easily modeled themselves into his life rather quickly. Niall was the only other first year alongside Liam to join the team so that ended up bonding them quickly, both of them in shock and awe of everything and everyone around them. Louis was a second year and the spokesperson for the team, or that’s what he said when he introduced himself to the boys. People seemed to be intimidated by Louis which still till this day makes Liam laugh about. Louis was all bark, no bite at all. Louis boyfriend, Harry, rounded out their small group. They all had friends outside their circle but they always ended up back together. It was a special bond between the four of them. 

“My boyfriend!” Harry shouted over the crowd once he spotted the boys. He jumped out of his seat and into Louis arms, which was a painful sight to see. 

“It’s been what, three hours since you’ve last seen each other,” Liam spoke fondly at the couple who tried to squeeze themselves in a single person chair. 

“Jealously,” Louis laughed looking directly at Harry. “Plan still in motion babe?”

“Plan is still in motion,” Harry confirmed with a nod, pushing his hair back from off his face. 

“Plan?” Liam asked looking between his two friends who were grinning widely at each other. “Niall, what plan?”

“Leave me out of this,” he said, raising his hands. “Mo and Curly are up to something without involving me this time. Promise.”

Liam tried to drop it but whatever Louis and Harry were up to get creeping up in his mind. He was enjoying his night out, even though he’d never openly admit it. A few cold pints with his good friends. After a hard week of training Liam even indulged himself with a greasy burger and a side of chips. He had to keep swatting Niall’s hand away and he tried to steal his food, even though he had gotten his own. All and all it was a great night. The music could’ve been better but what was Liam expecting from a dive bar on a Thursday night. Louis and Harry still squished themselves on one seat even though there was an unoccupied seat right next to them. It didn’t bother Liam, rarely did. He was happy that Louis had found Harry. They’d been dating for only six months but it felt like it had been years. An awkward encounter in a campus bathroom led to those two being connected at the hip ever since. Niall and sworn off relationships, at least during the season. Said it clouded his mind and he wanted to be sharp during the season, for the benefit of himself and the team. 

Liam didn’t mind being alone, being single. In his short life he’d only been in one meaningful relationship and he was fine with that. He’d always been more concerned with school and football anyway, didn’t want to split his time between so many things in his life. Watching is friends find happiness was fine enough for him, for now. His mum did get on his case every time she called though. She wanted her only son to settle down and bring someone home for the holidays. It had gotten particular worse once Ruth got married over the summer. Throughout the joyous occasion his mum would just give him looks, looks that spoke volumes. He was happy though, and his whole family knew that and that’s what truly matter. Liam looked over at Louis and Harry once more and once again they were whispering to each other and staring at Harry’s phone as they both grinned. Uh oh. That wasn’t a good sign. 

“Phase two is in motion,” Harry said loud enough for the group to hear. 

“Phase two,” Niall inquired with raised eyebrows. “I don’t appreciate not being part of this plan lads. Not nice.”

Louis shrugged his shoulders to show his indifference to the situation. “That’s all part of my master plan. Right babe?”

“Yeah, sure,” Harry laughed and put his phone back in his back pocket of his jeans. “You alright Li?”

“Why do I feel like this plan will someone end up with me hurt?” He asked, narrowing his eyes while he looked at the couple. “Because it always does. Remember when we decided to skateboard down the dorm stairs? Who ended up twisting their ankle? Me.”

“Semantics,” Louis waved him off with a simple flick of his wrist. “Trust me this once, okay.”

Liam was skeptically as he continued to try and enjoy his night out. Louis having a secret plan always had him one edge. He knew that nothing serious was going to occur, they were in a public place, but it still worried him. Harry being in on the little plot of him made him even more nervous, especially seeing that Niall was just as confused as he was. Liam carried on like nothing was gnawing at the back of his mind, a very serious worry. 

“Here we go,” Harry announced, standing up and walking directly towards the entrance of the bar. 

“Payno, unbutton a few buttons of your shirt,” Louis instructed, standing up to do the job for him. “Show off the goods.”

“Tommo,” he said, swatting his hands away. “What are you doing? Get off.”

“Haz has been gone for all of a minute and your already trying to get in Li’s pants,” Niall laughed. “That has to be a new record.”

“Shut up and help Horan,” Louis barked, still fighting with Liam. “For god sake Liam, just let me do this and I won’t bother you again all night.”

Liam sighed and gave in, a whole night without Louis bothering him did sound marvelous. He let his friend unbutton the top three buttons of his shirt, he felt trashy immediately afterwards. “Happy?”

“Beaming,” he confirmed with a smile and a light pat to Liam’s cheek. “You’re fit Li, gotta show it off more.”

Liam opened his mouth to reply to Louis’s obvious sarcastic remark but his voice got stuck in his throat. Harry was making his way back to the table and this time he wasn’t alone. Walking right beside him was Zayn Malik. Liam looked over at Louis who just smiled wide at him, a big dopey grin on his face. From the looks of it and what he’s been alluding to, Louis knew that Zayn was making an appearance. Niall just looked as lost of Liam felt so that was a small bonus. Zayn looked, wow Zayn looked good. He was wearing a simple black shirt and black jeans, cuts along the thighs and knees, and black boots. Nothing over the top but still breath taking. Liam knew about Zayn for almost a year now, he worked on the schools newspaper as their photographer. He was at every single match, standing on the sidelines and snapping away with his expensive looking camera. Liam always wanted to go over and talk to him, pick his brain about cameras and photography, two things Liam knew little about. 

“Boys you all know Zayn, right?” Harry asked once they made it to the table. “Zayn you know the lads, yeah?”

“Ye-yeah,” he responded nervously, biting his lips as he shook everyone’s hand. 

“I didn’t know you were joining us,” Niall told him, sitting back down. 

Louis grumbled at Niall’s actions and pulled him back up by his collar. “Sit by me and Haz, Zayn you can sit next to Liam. Okay?”

Zayn nodded and sat down in the empty seat next to Liam. Liam eyed all his friends, wishing he could actually shoot fire and maybe daggers out of his eyes. This was so awkward, sitting next to Zayn and trying to look and feel composed. The five of them chatted idly the next half hour, spoke about classes, football, anything that caught their attention honestly. Liam wasn’t lost on the fact that both Louis and Harry kept staring at him and then whispering to each other, it was more than obvious. It even looked like Niall was finally happy to be a part of whatever plot they were clearly brewing up. 

“Oh wow look at the time,” Harry announced, even though it was half past eleven. “It’s getting late, I need to head to bed.”

“Seriously?” Liam gawked at the younger boy. “I know for a fact you don’t pass out until the sun rises.”

“I’m tired,” he argued and forced himself to yawn. He stretched his hands above to head to demonstrate his feeble point. “Lou, you ready to head out?”

Louis looked down at his wrist where his imaginary watch was. “Yeah. Got to wake up early for class tomorrow. Niall, you coming mate?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, standing up with the other boys. “Just want to say bye to Josh and I’ll meet you guys outside. It was good seeing you Zayn.”

“I’m glad you stopped by Zayn. We need to catch up again soon,” Harry told him as he was being dragged away by Louis. 

Liam laughed out loud and looked over at Zayn. “They set this up.”

“Totally,” Zayn nodded, playing with the condensation that formed around his pint glass. “Never subtle those boys.”

“You-you don’t mind, do you?” Liam asked and took a large sip of his water to wet his mouth that went dry as soon as Zayn sat down next to him almost an hour ago. “If you have somewhere else you need to be I totally understand.”

“Liam,” he stopped his mini rant with a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s fine. I don’t have anywhere to be until tomorrow afternoon so my night is completely free.”

“Good,” Liam smiled over at him, letting his eye drift over to where Zayn kept his hand on his arm. His cheeks began to flush and his stomach clenched, Liam was so screwed with this childish crush on Zayn. 

Liam was not ever going to give Louis and Harry for their genius plan. It was obvious that they set this up for Zayn and Liam to actually get to know each other off the pitch. It was working. Liam listened intently as Zayn spoke about his passion for photography and the different lenses he got for a birthday gift earlier in the year. It all sounded like a foreign language to Liam but he listened anyway because Zayn spoke with such passion and care. Liam spoke the same way when he started to talk about football and his goal to become a music engineer once he graduated. Everyone else around them in the pub just seemed to disappear, the only people in the world that mattered were them. The drinks that sat in front of them got warn as they kept talking and exchanging stories. Not longer after they began talking Zayn threw his arm over the back of Liam’s chair, making Liam smile at his subtle attempt at being sly. He didn’t mind that Zayn’s hand would occasionally graze his back, sending a shiver down his back. It was close to one in the morning when they decided to leave and head back towards the campus, Liam volunteering to walk Zayn back to his dorm. 

“I umm, I had a good time tonight,” Liam told him once they stood in front of Zayn’s door. He shuffled his weight from one foot to another, afraid to look up at Zayn. 

“Me too,” Zayn agreed, looking down at Liam and biting at his bottom lip. “We should do this again sometime soon.”

Liam looked up at Zayn after he spoke, a little shocked at what he said. “Yeah. This time we’ll plan it instead of having my friends do it sneakily behind our backs.”

“Definitely,” he laughed and stepped closer to Liam, placing his hands on Liam’s hips. “You’re a good guy Liam Payne.”

Liam sucked in a breath as they bridged the small gap between them. Liam’s brain was running a mile a minute, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was now kissing Zayn. Zayn, whose mouth somehow tasted like mint even though he had a few pints back at the pub and a cigarette on their way home. Liam snaked his arms around Zayn’s back and opened his mouth a little wider to let Zayn in. His mind was cloudy and he felt a little dizzy, a feeling he felt every time he was around Zayn honestly. Zayn’s hands gripped a little tighter on his hips as he pulled away and rested his forehead against Liam’s. 

“We should definitely do this again,” Zayn giggled, his shoulders rising as he did. 

“This weekend?” Liam offered, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t know why he was whispering but he felt like this moment was one he didn’t want anyone else to hear even though they were alone in the hallway. 

“I’ll be at the match on Sunday,” Zayn told him. “Kind of have a thing for the captain actually.”

“I’ll tell Lou that when I see him next,” Liam laughed. He quickly kissed Zayn again and smiled at Zayn’s shocked face. “We’re co captains.”

“Good. Haz would kill me if he knew I was hot for his boy,” he joked, eyes casting down to look at Liam’s lips. “Go or I want be able to control myself anymore.”

Liam let out a whine as he moved away from Zayn. He gave him one final kiss as he walked backwards towards the exit, a dopey smile on his face the entire time. Nope, he wasn’t going to admit that Harry and Louis had a genius plan. He wasn’t going to give the credit to Niall either. Okay so their plan ended up having an amazing ending for Liam, but they weren’t going to get any credit for it. Liam walked back to his dorm and changed before lying down on his bed, hearing his phone vibrating on the nightstand where he left it as he dressed. He opened it and sure enough it was a text from Louis that simply said “you’re welcome.” With a laugh Liam replied with a middle finger emoji, knowing now he’d never hear the end of this from his friends.


	9. The Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: We’re studying in the library and there are two people very obviously fucking in the stacks and we keep sharing embarrassed glances

The library was Zayn’s safe place on campus, a place where he could be one with the books. Louis always made fun of him for it, even though he was partially the reason why Zayn found solace there. He could get lost in the silence of the massive building, books upon books to read. Any subject he had a question about, the answer was probably found in these old, dusty books. That was also why he was studying English as well. So many things to uncover and different ways of interpreting a single text. With maths and history answers were always concrete, you couldn’t fake your way through it. With English though, you could talk in circles and still make sense and get a passing grade. Right now was crunch time, midterms. Besides exams Zayn had three term papers to complete within the next two weeks. Louis complained that he could only study well in their room, so being the good friend that he is Zayn made his trek across the campus to his go to spot. Not that it bothered him anyway. He smiled at Niall who was manning the coffee cart outside the building, promising that he’d stop to see him after his study session. Niall was a good lad, supplied Zayn with endless amounts of caffeine during his late night cramming sessions. 

He threw his bag in the table, hoping he didn’t crack the screen of his laptop. This table was his favorite, too. A secluded location on the top floor, right next to the floor to ceiling window that overlooked the art building. A building that stuck out like a sore thumb, the architecture of the building was a juxtaposition to the whole entire campus. Zayn understood it, he even thought of a minor in art history when he first enrolled. He could appreciate an abstract piece of art even when he didn’t fully understand it. He sighed as he unzipped his bag and pulled out his laptop and the book he needed to read for his English literature class. He needed to write a ten page paper comparing and contrasting female writers from the nineteenth century. Didn’t seem that hard, at least at first it didn’t. Zayn welcomed a challenge, it got his mind thinking in ways he wasn’t use to. He started up his laptop and opened up his Spotify, another perk of his isolated location. No one was around to be bothered by him playing music without using his headphones. The only other person on this floor was the student librarian, Liam. Zayn knew of Liam outside of the library, he was captain on the footie team, helping the school wins its first title in over twenty years. He was well known around campus without acting stuck up about it, which was a shock. Today he was stacking books in the back, his own headphones on as he pushed the book cart across the floor. 

Half hour into his writing Zayn noticed Liam was back behind his desk, headphones now off. He wasn’t bothered by Zayn’s music seeing he clearly bobbing his head to Drake. It was comforting to know that he wasn’t disturbing anyone. He was typing fast, his brain filled with ideas and he was determined to get it all down before they got lost. He looked up when he saw someone from the corner of his eye, giving them a head nod as a greeting. They guy went down the Russian literature section that had Zayn internally groaning, that course was waiting for him next semester. He went back to writing, getting lost in his work once more. It felt good to feel this determined, to actually set a goal for himself and maybe being able to accomplish it. He was going to reward himself with a massive iced latte, with an extra shot of hazelnut as a treat. It was stupid but it was the little things that made Zayn work harder. His goal was to write five pages of one of his ten page papers and it looked like he was going to achieve his goal within the next hour. He had three and a half pages written, and hopefully written well. One and a half pages left to write and he was free until he dragged himself up here the next day to hopefully repeat today’s events. 

“What the-?”

Zayn paused his typing at the sound of a groan. It was obviously loud enough that it was heard over both his typing and music. He looked around, hoping he wasn’t going crazy and hearing things. Liam was still behind his desk, typing on his own computer. Zayn stood up, stretched his arms above his head before walking over to Liam. 

“Hey Zayn, what’s going on?” He asked. 

“You okay?” Zayn asked, cocking his head to the right a little bit to size Liam up. 

“Yeah,” he let out slowly, obviously confused over why the question was asked. “Are you?”

Zayn shook his head and smiled, now embarrassed. “S-sorry. I heard a noise and thought it was you but now I know it wasn’t and I feel incredibly stupid.”

“Don’t,” he told him, placing a hand on Zayn’s for the quick reassure. “You’ve been working for a long time, maybe you’re just getting tired.”

“True,” he laughed. “Five hours staring a screen maybe is a long time.”

Liam gave Zayn a reassuring, light hearted smile before Zayn walked back to his seat. He flipped open his reading material once more and tried to resume his writing. He was on a good roll and now he felt like it had lost it. His mojo was gone. His five page plan looked bleak, looked more like a four page plan. Which wasn’t a bad thing but Zayn didn’t want to be behind when he had so much to do in such a short period of time. He changed the music, maybe a mix up of things would get him going again. The room was now quiet, just the soft sound of Liam typing in the distance when Zayn heard the noise again. He quickly turned around at Liam who was looking at him with eyebrows raised. Okay so he wasn’t going crazy and hearing things. This time Liam walked from behind his desk and over to Zayn. He sat next to him and just waited. Waiting for what? Zayn had no idea but clearly Liam knew what he was waiting for. Sure enough, the noise could be heard again. 

“Oh my god!” Liam gasped, trying to remain silent as he did so. “What the hell was that?”

“Is someone up here with us?” Zayn asked, turning off his music once more. “I’ve been so enthralled with my work that I don’t know if anyone is here.”

“I saw some guy like an hour ago,” Liam recalled. “Holy shit! Holy shit!”

“What! What!” Zayn asked, slapping Liam’s arm, hopefully getting some information out of him. 

“A girl followed him up here a few minutes later,” he laughed. “Someone is having sex in the Russian literature section.”

“Pushkin gets me hot too,” Zayn joked, pushing his chair out slowly, hoping not to scrap it against the floor and make noise. He stood up and smiled down at Liam. “Come on.”

“What! No!” Liam told him. “Za-Zayn stop!”

“Come on, Leeyum,” he laughed, pulling gently on his arm. “Don’t you want to know who rudely interrupted our studying?”

“No, not really,” he replied, shaking his head. “Let’s leave them to their business and continue with ours. Okay?”

“No,” Zayn responded. “These people are not respecting the books. The books need to be respected, Liam.”

“Zayn,” Liam groaned and tried to stifle a laugh when the couple in the aisle made a similar noise. “They can’t be that much longer, yeah, so let’s just drop it.”

Zayn shook his head in dismay at Liam, how dare he just want to leave this alone. These people were clearly being disrespectful to not only Liam’s place of work but the books. The books! They couldn’t stick up for themselves so someone had to and that someone was going to be Zayn Malik. He tip toed as quietly as possible towards the shelves to catch these rude intruders. The first two shelves were clear, only six more to go. Once he approached the fourth he saw Liam sigh and give up to follow him. Good. It was better with a partner anyway. Someone to back up his story when he told Louis later. He kind of wished Louis was there with him, he’d be the first to jump out of his seat and help Zayn. Not for the respect part just because Louis was the biggest gossip he ever met. 

“Welcome to the team,” Zayn greeted Liam with a smile. “Time to put these no good people in their place.”

“Oh yeah, you’ve got them shaking in their boots,” he replied dryly. “Totally going to scare them now.”

Zayn rolled his eyes and grabbed for Liam’s hand which was slightly clammy, probably nerves. They walked a few feet to the next shelf in silence, Zayn tried to hold his breath trying not make any unnecessary noise. The noise got louder and more aggressive, okay now Zayn was trying to suppress a laugh. This was all kind of a little bit ridiculous if he stopped to think about it. But he couldn’t stop to think about it now, these books demanded respect. He peeked at the next shelf and sure enough he had caught the assailants, going at it between ancient Russian romance novels and Russian history. How sexy. Zayn looked behind at Liam who was still shaking his head and rolling his eyes at him. His free hand was covering his mouth but it was evident that he was laughing behind his hand. The laugh lines by his eyes were a dead giveaway. Useless.

“Excuse me,” Zayn said harshly towards the couple. 

The parted quickly, or as quickly as they could seeing the girl was kneeling on the carpeted floor. 

“Can’t you find a room to do that in?” Zayn asked and stood square in front of the couple. The guy quickly trying to button his pants back up as the girls sheepishly stood up, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. “What you’re doing is not only rude but disrespectful.”

“Sorry bro,” the guy apologized, shocked at Zayn’s outburst. “Didn’t realize you’d be so against a quick blowie in the library.”

Zayn looked over at Liam and quickly pulled him closer. He wasn’t going to look like the asshole alone. “I don’t care where you get your jollies mate. Just don’t do that to the books.”

“Th-the books?” He gawked, running his hand through his hair. “You can’t be serious.”

“These books deserve better,” he explained. “These beautiful pieces of literature were not written so you can have a quickie amongst them.”

The girl looked over at her boyfriend and then at Liam, hoping someone could make sense of what was going on. “I-I’m sorry, but you’re upset over some books.”

“Some books,” Zayn scoffed looking over at Liam for some help, tightening his grip on their connected hands. “Please.”

“Ignore him,” Liam told the couple. “As you can tell he’s very passionate about this. Can you just umm, I don’t know. Finish this up somewhere else, okay?”

“Sorry bro,” the guy repeated, this time to Liam. He patted him on the back as he and his girlfriend passed by. “That goal to end the last season was sick man. Epically sick.”

“Thanks,” Liam took the compliment graciously with a tight smile. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Zayn huffed at Liam, releasing their hands with a upset sound. He stomped back to his seat to collect his things. He was so upset over the couple and his lack of completed work that he was even considering not getting his iced latte after all. But hell, he deserved it. He had put up with enough crap today that he’d even give himself two shots on hazelnut. 

“What’s wrong?” Liam asked once he caught up with a fast moving Zayn. “You can’t be that upset over some books.”

“Some books,” he scoffed and zipped up his bag. “You don’t get it Liam, do you?”

“Obviously not,” he laughed. “Look if it’s any consolation, these things rarely happen around here.”

“Liam,” Zayn began with a sigh and threw his heavy bag over his shoulder. “One day I want what I write to be on these shelves. I’m not mad at the kid getting off, more power to him honestly. It’s the principle of it all is it.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want my work to be thrown up on a shelf and be disregarded like these works are,” he continued to explain. “I respect the written word. And maybe that makes me a nerd or whatever but so be it. That’s just who I am I guess.”

“I can respect that,” Liam told him with an understanding nod of his head. “Don’t get it but I respect it.”

“Don’t you have something you’re so passionate about that it drives you insane?” He asked, his eyes wide and animated with emotion. 

Liam stood in front of Zayn silent. He shuffled on his feet and visibly swallowed his nerves down. Honestly? Yeah, Liam did have something he was truly passionate about that drove him insane and it was Zayn. He all started at the beginning of the year. He’d watch him come to the library almost every day and sit in his lonely section. Liam would just spend the whole time watching him as he studied, trying to find the courage to talk to him. He was attractive but that wasn’t what kept Liam feeling helpless. It was passion and his drive as he worked so hard at whatever he was working on. Zayn the English major with soft eyes and sharp cheekbones with black ink painting both his arms. He was breathtaking. 

“Liam?”

“Get coffee with me,” he blurted out. 

“Wha-what?” Zayn asked, taken aback at Liam’s outburst. 

“Get coffee with me,” he repeated boldly. “You want to know what I’m so passionate about then come get coffee with me and I’ll tell you. Just warning you that it’ll shock you.”

Zayn scoffed. “After today nothing is going to shock me.”

“Is that a yes then?” Liam asked, hoping it didn’t sound like he was begging. 

“It’s a yes,” Zayn confirmed. “You’re buying though. And just to let you know I want a double shot of hazelnut.”

“I can do that,” Liam laughed. “Come on. Niall should be closing up soon and his cart is the only coffee I trust on campus.”


	10. First Day Of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off this prompt: I’m in art class and I just opened a cupboard to find a tiny person (you) squished inside and you just looked at and said “shh i’m hiding”

Zayn was a nervous wreck all day. His skin feeling like it was vibrating since his mum had woke him up at half six this morning. Couldn’t keep his fork from clanking against the plate as he tried to eat his favorite breakfast she had prepared for him. He couldn’t even recall if he actually ate it or just inhaled it. His dad and sisters sat around him at the table looking calm and collected, like today wasn’t a massively huge day for all of them. He got dressed with disdain, hating that now he was forced into wearing a uniform, no originality. His father drove Zayn and his sisters to their schools, the girls leaving the car with a spring in their step, excited for the new possibilities. Zayn said his goodbye as he grabbed his bag and dragged himself into the building. He was use to this feeling by now, starting a new school midyear. This was the was third time he’d done this in as many years. His father kept getting relocated at work. He was only in year four and he was already at his fourth school. 

He missed Bradford, the place he called home the longest. He missed his friends, Danny and Ant, the only people he could truly call friends. All the other faces just seemed to blend together over the years. Names getting forgotten as soon as he learned them. It had become routine after a while, packing up and shipping out before he even finished unpacking. Never decorated his room because within a blink of an eye he’d be gone again. This time it was going to stick, at least that’s what his mum said when they pulled up the driveway a few days ago. Wolverhampton was their new and permanent home. He didn’t believe her, he never did. His sisters took to it like they usually did, acting as if this wasn’t the norm for them. They too just had to pack up all they knew and move, but maybe they just adjusted quicker. 

Zayn fixed the Batman button he pinned to his blazer and walked into his first class, English, his favorite subject. Like suspected he got looks from everyone already sitting in their seats, a few girls in the back already exchanging whispers and looks in his direction. He was use to it though, people already passing judgment about who he was before he even opened his mouth. Embarrassingly the teacher introduced him to the class before pointing to a seat for him to sit in, right in front. They had already started reading a new book a week ago they were now discussing, so now he had to catch up before the test on Friday. And that’s how most of his day went. He was behind on a lot, knowing his weekend was going to be spent playing catch-up. Not that he had any plans anyway besides staring at his bare bedroom walls and studying. Lunch hour was the absolute worst, everything felt so foreign. He had nowhere to sit, no one was calling him over and offering him a seat. Everyone was off with their group of friends, heads huddled together in deep conversation. He was fine with it, yeah, it stung a bit but it wasn’t a feeling he hadn’t felt before. 

Art class was next, another subject he excelled in. Hopefully this time around he wouldn’t feel so lost in the lesson. Zayn knew that after lunch everyone was going to be over excited, all the extra adrenaline pumping through their bodies. It came as a slight surprise to him when he saw the room in utter chaos. The regular teacher was out for the day due to illness and they were left with a substitute. One who clearly had no control over the room. Kids were everywhere, screaming at each other from across the room. There went Zayn’s chance at having one normal class that day. He introduced himself to the teacher before being told to find something to do. Great. It was just like lunch all over again. He milled about the room for a few minutes, looking for anything that could occupy his time for the next hour. The art supplies were limited and looked old and more than used. His classmates around him were just enjoying their extended lunch period. Talking to their friends while some were sleeping at their desks. Zayn walked towards the cabinet that rested against the back of the room, hoping and slightly praying that he’d find something of importance in there for him to use. 

“Shh!”

Zayn shut the cabinet door quickly, frightened. There was someone sitting in there! He just stared at the now closed door perplexed, more than rightfully confused. Why was someone sitting in a cabinet? He looked around the room hoping someone saw what he saw, that he wasn’t going crazy. He slowly opened the door and peered inside. “Hey mate.”

“Shh!” The boy repeated, putting his finger up to his lips. 

“Wh-why are you sat in a cabinet?” Zayn asked and even the words leaving his mouth sounded ridiculous. 

“Hiding,” he replied, eyes shifting back and forth between Zayn and whatever was happening behind him. 

“Figured as much,” he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “But why?”

The boy, who from what Zayn could tell was a little smaller than him. A curly mop of hair on top of his head, his knees squeezed tight to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, cramped. “Because. Now leave me alone, please.”

“I’m going to need a better reason,” he scoffed. Zayn couldn’t even believe that his first real interaction with someone at this school was with a boy hiding in a cabinet, his family was not going to believe him later when he recalled the story during dinner. 

“The boys that bully me are in this class,” he finally answered after an intense stare down occurred. He looked behind Zayn once again and quickly cowered away when someone walked behind Zayn. “Mr. Robertson usually helps me out but seeing he’s not here I’m stuck hiding.”

Immediately Zayn felt bad for this kid. Hiding in a cabinet was no way to go about living a life. He had his fair share of bullies in his life, being the new kid so many times never helped his case. He never resorted to hiding himself in a cabinet but he could see the appeal of it. “It gets that bad?”

“Worse,” he sighed. “In the hall I’m usually pushed up against the lockers or stuffed into one.”

“I’m Zayn.”

The boy hesitantly reached out his hand to shake Zayn’s. “Liam.”

“Why don’t you come out of there Liam and sit with me?” He offered, squeezing tightly to Liam’s hand, a small sign of reassurance, he was on this boys side. “I’ll protect you, mate.”

Liam scanned Zayn’s face, looking for the crack of a smile or the start of a laugh. Anything to show him that this stranger was going to turn on him in an instant. “I-I can’t.”

“Please,” he begged. “I’m new here, don’t know anyone and I could really use a friend.”

“You don’t want me as a friend,” he scoffed, shaking his head to get the curls out of his eyes. Eyes that looked lost but showed a small sign of hope at Zayn’s words. He was slowly letting his guard down, unclasping his hands from around his legs. Baby steps. 

“Well, I don’t want those jerks as my friends either,” Zayn told him. They did look like jerks. They were probably around the same age as Zayn but larger, more than likely listened to their mum to drink their milk when they were younger. Whatever. “Come on, Leeyum.”

Liam sighed and clenched his fists a few times, some sort of way to calm himself down. Besides his anxious feeling of being in a classroom full of his bullies it must’ve been uncomfortable to hide himself in a cabinet that was built for supplies not people. “Is that a Batman pin?”

Zayn smiled wide, a true smile. He played with the button on his lapel, forgetting it was there the entire time. “Yeah, mate. Batman is sick. Me mum is taking me to see the new one this weekend.”

“I’m Batman,” Liam whispered to Zayn, sounding so serious as he spoke like he actually believed it. He brought his finger to his lips, a large smile shining bright on his face. His laugh lines were prominent around his eyes, his cheeks red and rosy. “But you can’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Our little secret,” Zayn promised, offering his hand to Liam. “We can’t have you spending all day in here, can we Bruce? What would all your enemies say if they knew the Batman was hid in a cabinet?”

Liam nodded his head and grabbed a hold of Zayn’s hand, hoisting himself out of the cabinet and on his feet standing in front of Zayn. Once they were face to face Liam wasn’t that much smaller than Zayn, he just made himself look smaller to hide away better. He kept a hold of Zayn’s hand as they made way to the only available table in the classroom, far away in the corner of the room. 

“Go back in the cabinet, Payne.”

“Leave him alone!” Zayn barked at the boy who tried to look menacing as he paced in front of their table. “You don’t want to bother us, okay?”

The boys looked like they were either going to pounce on them at any moment or laugh at the bold attempt at standing up to them. Either way both Liam and Zayn were nervous. “Let’s just drop it, Carl.”

“What!” Carl snapped. “Why should I spare these dweebs?”

“The new kid just got kicked out of his third school last week,” one of the boys tried to whisper. “I’ve heard things about him. I don’t wanna mess with him.”

Zayn sat back smugly in his seat, loving that there were already inaccurate rumors being spread about him. Liam looked over at him in a bit of shock. He leaned over to him to whisper in his ear. “It’s not true.”

Carl sized them up one more time before huffing out a frustrated sigh and storming off with his friends in tow. 

“Wow,” Liam breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for that, Zayn. That’s never happened before.”

“No big deal,” he assured him. “Stick by me Liam and they’ll never bother you again.”

“Yea-yeah,” he said confidently, turning in his seat to face Zayn better. “So about the new Batman movie, have to you seen the new trailer they released last night?”

So maybe Zayn was wrong earlier in the day, complaining about another new school. Maybe this time he’d change his mind, maybe this time it’ll stick. He hoped it did because he found himself a new friend. Him, a boy who was so afraid of opening up because he’d just leave again, was making a new friend on the first day of school. It wasn’t everyday that Zayn Malik trusted someone so quickly that it made him change his views on the whole moving situation. Even in the brief few minutes that he knew Liam he knew that he could see this boy being in his life forever.   
 


	11. Happy Anniversary

He scanned his room one final time, making sure everything he needed to pack was packed. Everyone who needed to know where he was going knew he was going to be off the grid for the entire weekend. He also knew if he didn't hurry up he'd was going to be stuck in a lot of traffic. He grabbed his bag and keys from his bed before dashing out the door and into his car. The drive was only supposed to take him three hours so he immediately powered up his Spotify playlist he specifically made for this trip. NeYo began to play and a smile immediately came to his face, all the memories that the song meant to him came rushing back into his mind. By the third song his eyes were misty, a fact he would never ever openly admit, a fact that would get him teased relentlessly about. Halfway through his journey he made a quick stop at a petrol station, more so for the snacks then anything else. He was told he had one job, provide all the necessary junk food. It was easier than all the other jobs that had been given out. 

After spending a small fortune on junk food, hopefully getting enough to survive a weekend getaway without many complaints, he was back on his journey. The irony wasn't lost on him as he kept driving, six years ago he took this same journey. That time he wasn't driving himself there though, didn't have his license yet. Memories flashed in his mind of all those years ago. Memories of just how nervous he was, skeptical of it all. It was funny really, at that time this journey was the biggest event of his life. He missed the innocence of it all, the naivety he carried around with him. The last song on his playlist began as he pulled up into the driveway, how appropriate. With a chuckle he parked his car and let the song finish before turning his car off, grabbing his bag and exiting the vehicle. Looking up at the home in amazement, just thinking about how this place felt larger to him all those years ago. He heard laughter coming from the back garden and was happy to know he wasn't the first to arrive. He let himself in and dropped his belongs on the first couch he walked past, making his way towards the back. 

"Nialler!"

"Horan!"

Niall shook his head in fondness at the calling of his name from both Louis and Harry, he should've expected that they'd be the first to arrive. "Need me to do anything?" 

Harry walked up the little grovel pathway to where Niall was standing, flinging an arm over his shoulders to escort him down. "There's nothing to be done, just gotta wait and see."

"You brought the junk food?" Louis asked, eyes wide as he spoke. "The good stuff I hope."

"Tommo," Niall gasped in mock horror. "I always provide the good shit. It's Haz here who tries to sneak in a carrot or some shit like that." 

"For balance," he scoffed, rolling his eyes with a grin on his face. 

The three boys sat around the back garden just catching each other up on their lives away from each other. Harry was busy filming movies and dedicating his time to acting, which was amazing. Louis was laying low for a while, trying to find his footing during the bands time a part. He found his niche years ago with writing so he just continued to do so, now for other people. It still baffled Louis till this day that people were blowing up his phone asking him to write for them. Not some little up and coming artists either, real, legit, and respected artists in the industry. It was surreal. It took Niall a long time for find his footing during the break, after all the traveling. What did he want to do now? Not having everything planned out for foreseeable future was rather daunting. It took him awhile but finally he decide to just do music low key. Writing with other people, playing guitar in some tracks for various artists. He occasionally got the itch to do his own material but for now he was content with the role he chose for himself. 

"Anyone hear from Payno yet?" Niall asked, shoving a piece of chocolate in his mouth. "He's never late or last to anything."

"He's probably dead," Louis said casually, shrugging his shoulders as he responded. He stretched his legs, trying to make them as long as possible so they could rest comfortably on Harry's lap. 

"Really?" Harry gawked, pushing Louis's feet off him. "What a way to stay classy babe, honestly."

"Oh, get off it Haz, it's a joke," Louis laughed, shaking his head. He wiggled his feet, struggling to get them back on Harry's lap. "If we had bloody service up here I'd volunteer to phone him, but alas we're stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"This getaway was your idea!" Niall exclaimed with a laugh, shaking his head fondly at Louis. He seemed to be doing that more often lately Niall had come to notice. It was true though, he had grown fond of Louis over the years and his random outburst that was brought on by practically next to nothing. 

"Did he even confirm he was coming?" Harry asked, slapping Louis's feet away once again, it was getting rather annoying now. Louis was still desperately trying to rest his feet on Harry's lap, but Harry was rather enjoying the miffed expression Louis had every time Harry pushed him away. He was kind of cute and extremely endearing. 

"Did Liam confirm?" Louis scoffed. "Harold did you not receive the same detailed itinerary as the rest of us from him?"

"Oh yeah," he laughed, his whole body shaking as he did. Feeling lighter from letting out the laugh, Harry finally let Louis rest his feet back on his lap. It's the least he could do it seemed. 

"If he's not here half past ten we'll drive into town and call," Niall suggested and eyed his friends who looked overly comfortable lounging on the patio furniture. "Or I'll go into town and call."

The three of them let the midday warmth and slow cool breeze lull them into silence. They didn't really need to speak to each other anyway, they always knew they could communicate with each other via knowing glances or facial expressions. Niall knew he should be concerned about Liam's random absence, it was out of his character. Niall also knew Liam, though. Knew that he probably had a good reason for either being extremely late or ending up as a no show. Right now he was more concerned with trying not to purposely eavesdrop on Louis and Harry's whispered conversation. Whatever it was about had Louis giggling into Harry's shoulder as the taller boy grinned ear to ear. Niall shut his eyes momentarily, allowing the summer sun to bathe over him before it set. The calm quiet day was exactly what he needed, what they all needed actually. A sacred place just for them to enjoy, without any interruptions or interference. One of the few places where they could just be themselves, let their guard down and not have to worry. There weren't any cameras or reporters in their face, demanding them to do or say things they weren't comfortable with. This, this place was home and safety for all of them. 

"Party's here!"

"Oi, Payno!"

Niall jerked awake at the loud noise. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to adjust them to the dark. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep. The comfortable silence and the hot sun had more than likely lulled him to sleep, it was actually pretty good combination if he was being honest. Neither Louis or Harry were grinning at him so it was safe to say that no shenanigans happened to him while he slept. No dicks were drawn on his forehead, no hands being thrusted into cold water to see what would happen. 

"Nialler!" Liam exclaimed in pure excitement at seeing his friends. He jokingly brushed off Harry and Louis, who stood in front of him with open arms. He went directly to Niall, hugged him tight and lifted him off the ground. 

"Twat," Louis hissed at him. "We haven't seen each other in months and you go directly to Horan."

"He hasn't seen me in months either," Niall playfully spat back in Liam's defense. Once he was back on his feet he lightly punched Liam's shoulder. "Why the delay? We were worried about you Payno."

"Worried," Harry scoffed and accepted Liam's long overdue hug. "You slept as soon as you sat down. Useless this one, I tell ya."

"Boys," Liam laughed at their childish antics. "You knew I was coming. You all got the itinerary I sent like three days back, yeah?"

"Daddy direction," Louis teased, going back to lounging on the plush sofa he sat on before. "But what was with the delay, Payno? Traffic?"

Liam watched as Harry joined Louis back on the couch, Louis immediately resting his feet on the younger boys lap. Niall went back to his previous seat, patting the spot next to him, letting Liam know he wanted him to sit down next to him. Liam just kept looking between his three friends, biting his lips and shifting his weight from one foot to another. 

"You okay?" Harry asked noticing the slight shift of Liam's stance, now hunched a bit forward. "Need water? Something to eat?"

"I'm good," he quickly responded. "Um, I wa-was late because I had to pick something up."

"But that wasn't on your list," Niall teased. "I got the junk food and Lou and Haz got whatever is they got."

"I'm the reason we have a roof over our heads," Harry told him smugly. 

"Anne would've let us come even if you didn't," Liam countered with a smirk. "I am her favorite after all."

"Not true," Louis replied. "She told me I am, yesterday she did as a matter of fact."

"Because you're taking her son away from her for a weekend," Niall laughed. "You'd be my favorite too."

Harry gasped, desperately trying to actually be offended at the argument that was happening. He looked up and over at Liam who just shrugged his shoulder in response. "So what did you bring that got you held up for so long?"

"Like you can't be mad at me for doing this," he began, pulling at his hair a little, a nervous tick he had developed recently. "Actually, you shouldn't be mad at me at all for doing this."

"Payno!" Louis exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Just get it over with, yeah?"

The three friends remained seated as Liam nodded curtly before walking back into the home. They didn't exchange any words, just glances, wondering what Liam was up to. He was acting rather mysterious which wasn't a characteristic he was known to possess. Niall could faintly hear Liam walking about the house, occasionally making a noise as he moved about. Now things were getting really suspicious. 

"Okay," Liam began as he stepped back outside. "You can't be mad, okay. You all promised."

"Oh my god Payno," Louis groaned, throwing his hands up. "Did you bring a crazed fan? A masked murdered perhaps? Cut the shit, yeah?"

"Okay. Okay." He nodded his head, mostly to himself to calm whatever feeling was bubbling inside of him, more than likely fear and nervousness. He shuffled back inside the home briefly and reemerged less than a minute later with-

"Zayn!" Niall was the first one to shout, immediately jumping out his seat. 

Louis dropped his feet off of Harry's lap and clambered his way over. "Bro."

"Hey Lou," he greeted him warmly, gladly accepting the cuddle from Niall. The younger boys face buried into his neck. "Haz."

"Hey," Harry casually greeted him, still sitting down, his hands now on his lap where Louis once rested his feet. 

"So you guys aren't mad?" Liam asked, not really needing an answer judging by everyone's reaction. Niall was still glued to Zayn's side while Louis stood in front of him, his hands resting gently on Zayn's cheeks. Harry was hard to read though, he was smiling widely but his brows were furrowed in what looked like confusion. 

"Surprise," Zayn laughed. 

"We can't have a proper celebration without Zayn," Liam explained, his hand slipping effortlessly into Zayn's. "Six years as a group."

"Harold," Louis prompted him, turning his head to face the boy, his hands still resting on Zayn's face. "Aren't you going to greet him? Say something at all?"

Harry stood up, wiping the moisture from his hands on his pants. He didn't know why he was so nervous at seeing Zayn. There wasn't any animosity between the two of them, never was really. It just felt strange to actually see him after so long. Random texts or an exchange of emails was how they mostly communicated within the past year. It was his idea after all to have this little get together at the bungalow for their sixth year anniversary. A celebration would be incomplete without all five of them together. "I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah?" He asked, eyebrows raised as he maneuvered his way from the other three boys. He tentatively walked the short distance to where Harry was standing. "I-I can leave if you want, this is your place after all."

"Zayn," Niall groaned behind him, clearly not wanting the boy to go. 

"I don't want him to be uncomfortable," Zayn explained to Niall, still looking at Harry as he spoke. "Just let Liam stay and you boys can get on with your celebratory weekend, okay?"

"You don't know how to drive," Harry laughed. He took a deep breath, mostly to clam his over beating heart before placing a hand on Zayn's shoulder. "You're not walking back to London because Liam would kill me."

"It's true mate," Liam agreed, laughing too. "Love you but not that much, obviously."

"You want me to stay then?" Zayn asked, looking up at Harry through his eyelashes. A simple look that made Harry shiver and grip Zayn's shoulder tighter. "I don't take up much room, I'm kinda like Lou that way."

"Fuck off," Louis cursed, absolutely no venom behind his words. 

"You can bunk with me Zayner," Niall suggested. Liam quickly cut his eyes over at him. "Or not."

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "Of course I want you here. You will always be a member of this group. I guess I'm just shocked that you actually came when in reality I knew you'd always would."

"This is all beautiful and touching, I'm about to cry, honestly. Can we move this inside though, I'm starving," Louis butted in. 

"Group hug," Liam demanded, walking up to Zayn and wrapping himself behind him, his arms around his waist. 

Harry let his arm slip from Zayn's shoulder and followed Liam's instructions, pulling both boys into a hug, laughing into Zayn's neck. Louis rolled his eyes but joined the group with Niall right behind him. Both of them plastered themselves to Zayn's side, their arms stretched around Liam and Harry's backs. It was a bit stifling, all their bodies pressed tightly together. It felt right though, correct. Fingers gripping at just the right pressure to make everything feel real. They were all tethered together. 

"Now can we go inside?" Louis mumbled into Liam's shoulder, his mouth full of shirt. 

"Always and forever," Niall said, his cheeks resting on Zayn's shoulder. 

"Always and forever," Zayn agreed, gripping Harry's back a little harder as he spoke. "Love you boys."


	12. Drunk All Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another prompt: your friend just said you’ve never gotten drunk before so i’m wondering why exactly you pretend to be drunk and hit on me every time we meet at a club” au

Zayn scooted closer to Louis, casting a quick look behind himself before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Lou, you really think it’s a smart idea for your boy to be drinking again?”

Louis’s eyebrows shot up, his face scrunching up in confusion instantly. “Niall? Mate, you know he can drink both of us under the table without issue.”

“Not Horan,” he shook his head. “The other lad, with the muscles and the snap back.”

“Payno?” Louis gawked, covering his mouth to suppress the noise he let out that was supposed to be a laugh. “Payno doesn’t drink, at least not in the three years I’ve known him.”

Zayn drummed his fingers against his lips, trying to find words to say without being utterly flabbergasted as he spoke. “O-oh.”

“Why? What happened?” Louis asked, his eyes now wide knowing there was gossip to be shared. “You fancy him or something?”

“Or something,” Zayn muttered to himself. “You sure he doesn’t drink and just, like, hides it well?”

“He said he had a dodgy kidney or something that stops him from drinking,” he flippantly explained, waving his hand in the air to brush the explanation away. “Good lad, that Payno.”

“You sure Tommo?” Zayn asked again, casting a quick look at Niall and Liam sitting by the bar, laughing with their heads thrown back. “I always see him every weekend with a drink in his hand.”

“It’s water,” he laughed. “Pretends it’s vodka when lads approach him asking to buy him a drink. He supposedly fancies some guy in his English class anyway.”

Zayn ducked his head to hopefully hide his blush. He was the guy from Liam’s English class. He was the guy Liam fancied and the feeling was more than mutual. It just baffled Zayn that the only time Liam had the courage to talk to him was when they were out at a club or at a pub like tonight. Liam always slurred his words or wobbled when he walked, clear signs of someone who was drunk. “I-I’m going to get us another round, yeah?”

“Sure,” Louis nodded, fishing his phone out of his pocket to more than likely check on Harry’s whereabouts. 

Zayn walked towards the bar as confident as he could. He nodded his head at people he knew as he pushed passed bodies that were trying to get towards the bar to order their own drinks. He took a deep breath and leaned against the sticky surface of the bar, purposely putting himself next to Niall who was engrossed in a conversation with Liam. “Hey Niall.”

“Zayn!” Niall greeted him excitingly, clapping him on the back. “When did you get here?”

“Lou and I are sitting in the back. He’s actually alone right now, waiting for Haz to come,” he explained, flashing a friendly smile in Liam’s direction. “Hey Liam.” 

Liam put his glass to his lips and smiled around it. It was kind of endearing, the fact that he was so afraid to speak to Zayn that he’d rather occupy himself with his nonalcoholic drink. Adorable even. 

“I’m going to go bother Lou,” Niall announced, slapping the bar before grabbing his drink. He looked between Zayn and Liam and smiled. “Have fun.”

“Ni-”

Zayn slid into Niall’s unoccupied seat and looked over at Liam, still smiling. “What you drinking?”

“Vodka tonic,” he quickly answered and finished off his drink in a rush. 

“I’ll have one too,” he told the bartender who just stared at the two of them confused. Zayn just quickly nodded his head at the boy and smirked knowing he was now in on Liam’s little secret. “You good? Classes? Life?”

“Uh yea-yeah,” he answered, brows scrunched together in confusion. Zayn had the urge to run his thumb over the crease between his eyes, feel his skin underneath his own. Crap. “You start the paper on Whitman yet?”

“Liam,” Zayn sighed, shaking his head at either Liam’s obliviousness or his horrible flirting tactics. He took a sip of the vodka tonic that was placed in front of him and tried not to wince at the bitter taste. “The jig is up, babe.”

“The jig? What jig?” He asked, the scrunch between his eyebrows still evident and still adorable. 

“Lou told me,” he laughed moving to face Liam fully. “You don’t drink and you’ve been pretending to be drunk each time you’ve talked to me in the past.”

“What? N-no.”

“Liam,” he repeated gently, resting his hand on top of Liam’s. “You never had to pretend to be drunk to talk to me, you know.”

Liam visibly swallowed, upset with himself that he had finished his water. Maybe if he took a sip of Zayn’s drink it’ll help calm his nerves. All he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears, his pulse racing and his palms began to get clammy. Great impression. “You-you’re just so intimidating, and smart, and God, so beautiful. I didn’t know what to say. Still don’t honestly.”

“Usually a hello works.”

“Zayn,” he groaned. “I had to pretend to be drunk so I felt confident. Guys like me don’t usually get guys like you to notice me. So, if I was drunk and came on to you that maybe you’d take me up on my offer.”

Zayn sat back in his chair baffled. Baffled that Liam thought he had to pretend to be drunk to have the nerve to talk to him. Liam, who was co captain of the football team with Louis, Liam who was majoring in musical engineering. Liam, a person no one ever had a bad word to say about. Liam, a person who could fill out a shirt with absolute perfection was afraid of talking to him. People around them clambered to get the bartenders attention but all Zayn could do was stare at Liam in astonishment. 

“Zayn, please say something,” Liam begged, biting at his bottom lip that he was dying to kiss and feel in between his own lips. Without giving much thought Zayn surged forward and just kissed him. Everyone around them just seemed to disappear at that moment. It was just the two of them and no one else mattered. Zayn could tell that Liam was hesitant as his mouth remained stiff against his own, he placed a comforting hand on Liam’s hip, running his thumb along the material of his shirt to get Liam to loosen up. It was almost instantaneously that Liam relaxed against his kiss, letting it really happen. He began to kiss Zayn back hungrily, moving his hand to the back of Zayn’s neck, pushing him in closer. 

“Come up for air, mates.” 

They listened to the voice and parted, both slightly panting from being out of breathe. And lo and behold standing in front of them was Louis, Niall, and Harry who was the owner of the voice. Great. Just what both of them wanted, their friends to see their first kiss. Nevermind the hundreds of strangers that were already standing around them. Their friends seeing them would inevitably lead to massive amounts of taunts and teasing. 

“See Li, I told you that you never had to pretend to be drunk to get Zayn to notice you,” Harry told him, running his fingers through Liam’s hair to mess it up. 

Liam hung his head, pink staining his cheeks in embarrassment. “Cheers Harry.”

Niall reached past the two of the sitting boys to grab the drink off the counter. “Let’s go lads, leave these two lovebirds alone.”

With their friends gone Zayn and Liam just stared at each other, not really knowing what to say. They had tiptoed around each other for some long that they didn’t know what was supposed to happen next. Were they officially together now? Do they start dating to figure it all out? Was the night going to end with one of them staying over the others place? Was it a onetime thing just to try it out? Everything was so up in the air. 

“I could, umm, I could use some help on my Whitman paper,” Liam spoke up. “And I know you’re ace when it comes to all this stuff. So maybe, if you want, you could like help me.”

Zayn smiled wide, feeling his heart tighten as Liam tried to ask him out without being obvious or very good at it truthfully. “You want to grab some coffee tomorrow and compare notes, Leeyum?”

“Yeah,” he responded instantly, his smile matching Zayn’s. His eyes getting lost behind how wide his face broke out into his smile, a pure, genuine smile. “Like a date?”

“Like a date,” he confirmed, laughing at how endearing everything Liam said ended up being. Everything about him was so pure and honest. It was good to know that they were still people like Liam out in the world. “That okay with you?”

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since you stepped foot into our English lecture,” Liam told him honestly. 

“Me too,” Zayn admitted, reaching over to grab Liam’s hand. “Let’s get you another round of water to celebrate the beginning of something great, I’m sure of it.”

Liam sighed and gripped Zayn’s hand a little bit tighter at the certainty of his words, how confident he was when he spoke about the two of them. “Make it a double."


	13. Don't Wake Me Up

Liam tossed once more, turning to now face the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table. It was blinking boldly and red at him, the time now 3:48 in the morning. Why was he still awake when Liam clearly knew his mind and body were exhausted. He groaned as the time ticked away once again, tossing to face the other side of his room, the bed squeaking beneath him. Louis was going to kill him tomorrow morning with all the noise he was making. It wasn’t Liam’s fault though, he just couldn’t sleep. Hasn’t really had a decent nights sleep in close to a week. Not since he and Zayn ended things actually. It was a mutual breakup, at least that what Liam keeps telling himself. Things were great at first, they were riding on a high of the newness of it all for what seemed like months. Reality came crashing down on them far too soon after that. Six months of bliss and love all came to a crashing end. The semester was almost over meaning they were going to be going their separate ways until the next semester began. Zayn was going to be taking a summer internship in New York to work at Marvel Comics while Liam was staying in London for his summer job. They got spooked at the possibility of their relationship not working during the summer. Now Liam was left alone in his room desperately trying to get any sleep. It just felt strange, he was so use to Zayn cuddled up behind him as they slept.

“Screw it,” Liam decided, kicking the blankets off his feet. It was no use to try and get any sleep, it wasn’t going to happen. He sat up, resting his back against the wall as he grabbed his phone off the table. He immediately turned off his alarm before checking all his social media apps. Everything was dead, normal people were usually asleep at this time. He opened up Twitter and saw that Zayn had tweeted not even five minutes ago. Complaining that he too wasn’t able to sleep. Before he could even comprehend what he was really doing Liam got up, slipped on his shoes and made his way out the room as quietly as possible.

Walking up the three flights of stairs to where Zayn’s room was, Liam never once realized how bad of an idea it was. All he wanted to do was see Zayn and maybe convince him to try their relationship out once more time. It was clear they were both miserable. Louis would give him daily updates via his boyfriend and Zayn’s roommate, Harry. He was keeping himself busy with school and work, packing up his room and shipping things back home or taking them with him to New York. Never went out much or did anything social. Liam was the same way, his time was only devoted to work and school, which bothered Louis immensely. Louis tried his hardest to get Liam to go out, socialize and work out the funk he was clearly in. It was no use. Going out usually meant seeing Harry and Niall, friends he met through Zayn. If they were going to have a clear break he needed to cut ties with everything and everyone that reminded Liam of Zayn and what they once had.

His hand trembled as he opened the door to Zayn and Harry’s suite. It was always unlocked, something that always concerned Liam. They lived in one of the safest halls in the entire campus but it still wasn’t safe to just leave your door unlocked, especially in the middle of the night. Liam entered as quietly as possible, seeing the soft light coming from underneath Zayn’s bedroom door, meaning he was still awake. Harry’s door was open ajar and Liam could see that he was passed out, sprawled across the bed, face smashed into his pillow. He tiptoed across the room, dodging the things that were thrown across the floor, like Harry’s shoe. He must’ve went out that night seeing he was never this careless with his things. Liam took a deep breath as he approached Zayn’s door. Now what? What was he supposed to do or say now? Just let himself him and hope for the best. His mum would be so embarrassed for him if she could see him now. Ruth and Nicola would never let him hear the end of this if they saw him. Creepily sneaking in your ex boyfriends room to do what exactly? Demand that he take you back because you couldn’t sleep. How childish. The closer he got to Zayn’s door the more Liam regretted his decision to even get out of bed. If Zayn hadn’t tweeted maybe Liam would still be in bed, playing some mindless game on his phone until sleep eventually took over. That’s what he’s been doing for the past week anyway.

Releasing one more deep breath to calm his erratically beating heart, Liam knocked on Zayn’s door. He could feel his stomach tighten in anticipation, his palms starting to sweat with nerves. This was a bad, bad idea. Stupid really. Liam was smart, why didn’t he think this through more thoroughly. Now he had to wait. Wait for either Zayn to answer his door or completely ignore him.

“Liam?” Zayn opened the door rather quickly, rubbing at his eyes, trying to wake himself up. He looked good, he always did though. His hair sitting softly on top of his head, still no strand out of place. He was shirtless with his pajama bottom sitting low on his small frame, a little sliver of his briefs showing. He looked even more confused then Liam felt. “Wha-what are you doing here?”

Liam scratched at the hair on his belly, not realizing he had walked up three flights of stairs in just his boxers. Now he felt even more embarrassed than before. Oh yeah, he had to speak. Explain to Zayn why he was standing in front of his door. “I can’t sleep.”

“Liam-”

“I can’t sleep anymore because you’re not next to me,” he continued. “This past week every single night has been torture for me. I toss and turn and eventually just give up. I’m falling asleep during my lectures or in the canteen eating with Tommo. It’s not okay and it only happened when we ended things.”

Zayn sighed, his hand still gripped tightly on the doorknob. He looked behind him at his bed, staring momentarily at it longingly. He sighed again, his shoulders slumping as he let out a breath. “Come inside. Don’t want to wake up Haz.”

Liam practically jumped out of skin at the offer from Zayn. He had no idea what he meant but it felt like a step in the right direction. He quietly shut the door behind them and sat at the foot of the bed when Zayn instructed him to do so. Baby steps. “Zayn-”

“Let me talk,” he interrupted him, raising his hand to silence Liam. “You can’t just barge into my room at three o'clock in the morning, Liam. That’s not okay. What if I was sleeping? What if I had someone else in here with me?”

“You’re seeing someone else? Already?” He asked, his head dropping. He felt panic flood is body instantly. That’s why Zayn was so casual with the break up, he had already moved on.

“No,” he quickly spoke. “I was just using that as an example. God Liam, what kind of person do you think I am? I devoted six months of my life to you with a purpose, for a reason.”

Liam lifted his head and audibly swallowed as Zayn’s voice began to rise. He was never one to yell or get mad, only when it was absolutely necessary. That’s why Liam was so drawn to him, they were so alike in that way. Never let their emotions get the best of them, always thought things through before coming to any sort of decision. That’s why Liam was so taken aback with himself over walking up the stairs and seeing Zayn. There was no thought behind it, just purely action. No rational thought in his mind would let him do what he was doing.

“Why’d you come here?” Zayn asked once more, kneeling in front of Liam, his hands resting on Liam’s knees to balance himself. “And the truth this time. You can’t sleep? Come on Liam, the truth.”

“I miss you,” he let out slowly, raising his head to look at Zayn directly. “I know we both decided to end this for the sake of our sanitizes and not wanting to risk the distance this summer. It’s bullshit though. I can’t forget the past six months like nothing happened, like you made this year bearable. Uni sucks but somehow I never want to leave, I wanted to live in our little bubble forever, babe.”

“Leeyum-”

“And yeah, like, I can’t sleep either. Not without you at least,” he continued sheepishly, feeling the blush creep up his chest and neck to his face. “You spooned up behind me, holding my hand, our legs tangled together as you breathe into my neck. It’s the only thing that worked. Now all I have is Tommo farting in his sleep and laughing about it to himself. And you-you’ve got Harry’s chainsaw snores to lull you to sleep.”

“I sleep,” Zayn tried to argue confidently.

“Then why are you awake? Hmm?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk on his face. “And tweeting about it, too.”

“It’s only one night,” he countered. Zayn finally realized his hands were still sitting hotly on Liam’s bare legs, gently rubbing patterns into his knees. It all still felt so familiar for two people who were supposed to be unfamiliar with each other now. “You know me. I usually sleep like a baby.”

“You haven’t slept well in the past week,” Liam blurted out. “It’s impossible that I’m the only one dealing with this. Unless you’re heartless and never really cared about this, about me.”

Zayn opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He just kept gaping at Liam, not knowing how or what to say to him. He was right, his sleeping habits had been horrible within the past week. He was lucky if he got two hours of sleep at night, his mind refused to shut off. Refused to stop replaying their breakup conversation, Liam’s face as he walked out of Zayn’s life for the last time. “Get in bed.”

“Wait. What?”

“Get in bed,” Zayn repeated and nudged Liam’s foot with his own. “We both look like shite and need sleep. This is the only way either of us are going to get an decent sleep. So, get in bed.”

“Zayn-”

“We’ll have the conversation tomorrow,” he clarified, watching as Liam scooted up the bed and laid down on where he usually slept. Tucking the pillow just right underneath his head, throwing the blanket over his legs even though they both knew he wasn’t cold, just a creature of habit. Zayn hesitantly climbed in beside him, a little apprehensive on what he should do. Should be but his arm around Liam, cuddle him like they use to.

“Zayn,” he whispered, moving his head to look behind him. “Can you, I mean, do you mind if we cuddled?”

Zayn tried his hardest to make sure he didn’t show how much he wanted to smile at Liam’s words. Luckily the room was dark enough to hide it. He moved a little closer behind Liam, his front now that plastered against his back. Instinctively placing his arm around his waist, lacing their fingers together, resting their conjoined hands on Liam’s belly. “Better?”

“Perfect,” Liam answered, letting a content sigh escape his lips. He wiggled a little to get more comfortable, laughing when Zayn let out a groan behind him. “This is nice.”

“Liam,” he groaned again. He rested his head in the nape of Liam’s neck, what he use to use as his pillow. “Go to sleep.”

“Goodnight Zayn,” he whispered into the dark, feeling sleep overtake him in almost an instant. Whatever was going to happen tomorrow was going to happen tomorrow. For right now all Liam wanted to do was feel this moment and store it away in his mind forever.


	14. Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after this years Brit Awards

“Strong, perfect, noble, warm,” Zayn muttered against Liam’s skin as he kissed along his neck and chest. “Brave.”

“Zayn,” he groaned at the onslaught of affection. He wasn’t complaining, just wished he could’ve properly gotten in the door before the attack.

“So brave,” he whispered against Liam’s birthmark, his favorite spot. His hands were underneath his jumper, feeling Liam’s warm skin against his cold palms.

“Zayn,” he repeated, his head thrown back as another groan fell from his lips. “In-inside please, babe.”

Zayn pouted as he detached himself from Liam, finally letting him properly enter their home. He watched as Liam took off his coat and slipped off his shoes, now looking comfortable. Zayn was already dressed in his pajamas, also known as an old pair of Liam’s sweatpants. Pants that were a little too big for him, always kept riding low on his hips. Neither were ever going to complain about that though.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the attack,” Liam began with a laugh as he walked further into their home, “but why?”

“Strong, perfect, noble, warm,” Zayn repeated as he followed Liam to the living room and on the sofa, their dogs in tow. “Brave.”

“What?”

“That’s how Louis described you in Milan once,” Zayn explained. “It makes absolute sense, especially after tonight.”

“You whispered brave if memory serves me right,” Liam reminded him, a smirk on his face which immediately went soft at the memory.

“Still true,” Zayn was definitely, curling his body into Liam’s. Liam instinctively threw his arm over Zayn’s shoulder, pressing him in closer. “You were so brave up on the stage tonight, babe.”

“It was just an acceptance speech,” he scoffed, taking his free hand to scratch at whichever dog was closest to him. “Any of the lads would’ve said the same thing.”

“In front of Simon you said it,” he stressed, poking at Liam’s chest with his finger, then tracing the lettering in his jumper. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Payno.”

Liam sighed and rested against the cushions, closing his eyes. Zayn’s finger lazily tracing the lettering and his breath was soft against his neck was more than enough for Liam. Heading the The Brits was a sort of last minute idea. When it looked like One Direction were gonna win he made some phone calls, one of rare times he threw his celebrity around. He wanted to properly thanks the fans, reassure them everything was going to be okay. That everything was fine, especially before the papers said anything. Especially before the bomb that was dropping later that night and into the next morning. Despite all that, he’d still go and accept the award.

“What did Simon say to you?” Zayn asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Liam looked so peaceful, he didn’t want to startle him.

“Nonsense,” he huffed. “It-it doesn’t matter anyway. He got to say his peace because it was never coming out of my mouth.”

“Brave,” Zayn whispered, lifting himself up some to kiss Liam once more. “So brave.”


	15. One Question part 1

“How’d you do it Lou?”

Louis paused at the call of his name. He made sure the candle he was toying with was balanced properly before bridging the gap between Zayn and himself. “Do what?”

“Really?” Zayn huffed out, twisting his hands on the tablecloth he was supposed to be setting along with the other utensils for the dinner. 

“You know the story,” Louis reminded him and gently released Zayn’s hands from the cloth. “Stop fretting.”

“Stop fretting!” He repeated with a roll of his eyes, letting out a hot breath. “Today is probably the most important day of my life and everything is in shambles.”

Louis raised an eyebrow before looking over the room once, then again. “Zayn, everything looks fine. The flowers and candles are in place, Haz is working away in the kitchen, and Ni is ready to go as soon as you say so.”

“He’s gonna like it, yeah?” He asked, chewing on his bottom lip that it started to look raw and red. He looked around the room, making sure everything was exactly in place. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. Actually Zayn knew exactly why he was so nervous. “Just go over everything with me once more.”

“Zayn,” Louis groaned but nodded. “Li’s set to arrive at seven, I’ll greet him and seat him, Harry’ll have the food out soon after while Niall plays softly behind you.”

“I can’t do this,” Zayn said after a long pause. “This is so stupid and not romantic at all. Let’s-let’s just cancel.”

Louis huffed out a breath that pushed his fringe away from his face. He was trying so hard not to wring his best friends neck, had to remind himself that he too was in this exact position over a year ago. “This is romantic, Zayn. Better than mine was. Ask Harry, he’ll agree with me. Niall too, I promise.”

Zayn nodded and ran his hand through his hair, pulling a little on the long strands. Everything was so overwhelming, when he came up with this over the top idea it all made perfect sense. Now that everything he planned was actually happening and he was looking at his idea come to fruition, it freaked him out. Before he had any more time to fret even more Louis pushed him towards the bathroom to shower and change before Liam was set to arrive. After his shower Zayn stood in front of the mirror, a towel around his waist, as he went over his speech one final time. He could do this, he totally could do this. Or maybe he couldn’t. No, no Zayn could definitely do this. Liam was going to be amazed and love everything he was planning for the night. He changed and began lighting the candles Louis had put out earlier. Niall was sitting on a chair in the corner tuning his guitar as Louis fixed his own bow tie, scowling in the mirror as he did so. Harry could be heard in the kitchen humming to himself as pot and pans were being moved around. 

Zayn checked the clock above the fireplace, Liam was due home any minute now. When the front door open and Liam called him name he sucked in a deep breath, butterflies beginning to fly recklessly in his belly, his pulse quickening rapidly. He sat at the table he set earlier and waited as Louis escorted Liam to his seat. The look on Liam’s face was priceless, he looked utterly lost and confused. Of course he was, Louis was playing host to a dinner party in their own home. Right on cue Niall began playing his acoustic guitar, some slow piece that Zayn couldn’t recognize. When Liam sat he just raised an eyebrow at Zayn and smirked at him. 

“What’s going on babe?” He asked and accepted the napkin Louis offered him. “How’d you get Tommo into a suit and act like he had manners?”

“Oi!” Louis exclaimed from where he stood adjacent to the table. Zayn cut his eyes at him and Louis immediately grimaced. “Sorry.”

“For your first course,” Harry’s voice cut him as he emerged from the kitchen. “A house salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. Fresh produce from my mum’s garden.”

“Thanks,” Liam replied skeptically. “Come on Zayn, what is going on?”

“Just eat,” he urged him, waving his fork at their plates. “Harry’s prepared a three course meal for us, dessert too.”

“Okay,” Liam let out slowly, picking up his utensil and clanging his fork loudly on the plate. 

The dinner was going smoothly, at least Zayn thought it was. They filled the silence between meals with conversations about work and home and their families. It was strange having both Louis and Niall within earshot of their conversations. Harry would walk in and out every few minutes bringing out the next course or just wondering how the food was. Shockingly the food was amazing, the second course of salmon and asparagus blew both men away. Who knew that Harry Styles was an excellent cook besides being a world class singer and style icon? Zayn tired to focus on the dinner and not what he had planned for after dessert, worrying himself would just make him chicken out and ruin this whole evening entirely. Harry took their dessert plates away and Zayn audible swallowed. Here went nothing. 

“Thanks for tonight,” Liam told him and grabbed Zayn’s hand. “I don’t know why you did it but thank you.”

“I love you,” Zayn sighed and gripped Liam’s hand tighter. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I love you too.”

Zayn turned his head and nodded over to Niall who began playing a familiar song on his guitar, that was also Louis’s cue to rush into the kitchen and grab Harry so he was present for this moment. “Liam, I met you on one of the most important days of my life, and it wasn’t important because of the audition, it was important because of you. Since that moment in McDonald’s my life has never been the same. There’s only four other people in this entire world that knows everything I’ve been through but there’s only one of those four I fell in love with.”

“Zayn-”

“Our story hasn’t been perfect, we’ve had our fair share of obstacles but I wouldn’t change it,” he continued. He let out a sigh and dug into his pants pockets, feeling the box that had sat there all night. He pulled it out and placed it on the tale, right in front of Liam. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It’s that simple. There’s no other person on this planet, and I’ve seen a lot of people on this planet, that I’d rather be with. So, Liam James Payne, will you marry me?”

Liam slowly opened the box and smiled as he finally recognized the song Niall was playing, it was their song, 18. He stared at the simple but elegant gold band that sat in front of him, overcome with so much emotion. He looked up at Zayn who had his doe eyed look, his smile large as he bit down on his bottom lip in obvious worry. “Zayn.”

“Please,” Zayn begged. His throat felt dry, maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe asking Liam was something neither of them were ready for. Maybe they were too young after all.

“Y-yes,” he finally answered, his voice stuck in his throat. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Zayn leaped out of his seat, hearing it fall into the floor as he moved over to Liam and kneeled in front of him. He removed the ring from the box and placed it on his finger, as tears began to fall from his eyes. He finally looked up at Liam and saw that he was crying as well. Zayn laughed through his tears and pulled Liam down by the back of his neck to kiss him. It was a simple press of lips together but it still made Zayn heart beat faster and skip a beat, it still took his breath away. “I love you, Jaan.”

Liam pressed his forehead against Zayn and let out a content sigh. “I love you. Do you know the other lads are still here?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “As you can see they helped me with my master plan.”

“Congrats boys,” Harry spoke first, moving over to his friends and patting Zayn on the back. “So much more romantic than Lou’s proposal.”

“I’m right here,” Louis huffed indignantly, wrapping his arm around Harry’s waist. “But he’s correct.”

“I get to be best man, right?” Niall asked, guitar left lying on the chair. “Throw the stag parties?”

“If we don’t move maybe they’ll leave,” Liam whispered against Zayn’s lips before he kissed him again. 

“Amazing idea,” Zayn agreed. “We’re engaged.”

“We’re engaged,” Liam repeated, his smile beaming evident by the crinkles by his eyes


	16. One Question part 2

“I hate this idea,” Zayn grumbled as he fidgeted with his collar for the fifth time in less than a minute. 

Liam softly chuckled as he stood behind him, his chest pressed against Zayn’s back. His hands snaked around his waist and laid on his hips. “This was your idea, babe.”

“I know,” he sighed and rested his head against Liam’s shoulder, looking up at him through his eyelashes. “Getting our entire family together to tell them about our engagement, what was I thinking?”

“You weren’t,” he responded and kissed his forehead. “It’s a lovely idea though. We’re going to be so busy with recording and touring that this was the only time they can all come together.”

“My mum’s gonna cry,” Zayn informed him with a soft laugh. 

“You’re mum is gonna cry?” Liam asked, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “My mum started to cry when I sent out the simple invitation for dinner.” 

A week after their engagement Zayn thought of the brilliant idea of getting their whole family together to make the announcement. It was the only time they’d be free, Zayn going on a small European tour before Liam went into the studio to start recording for his own solo record. They were going to be immensely busy and not in the same city until early August. The idea seemed great at first, both men shouting out ideas to each other about the menu and where to have the get together. It wasn’t until the day before that reality started to set in, especially for Zayn. He wasn’t nervous about the families coming together, the Malik’s and Payne’s got along swimmingly. It was Liam’s incessant teasing that began to panic Zayn, talking about how Geoff Payne would be disappointed that Zayn never asked his permission to propose. Liam just kept teasing him, reminding Zayn that Ruth’s fiancée asked Geoff and Karen’s permission before he proposed. It threw Zayn into a panic, now more than ever he wanted to make everything about this dinner perfect. He called the florist and made sure the home was filled with Karen’s favorite flowers, pink lilies, and Geoff’s favorite beer was stocked in the fridge. Liam wanted to help, he really did, but seeing Zayn this frazzled was pretty hysterical. 

“Your family still eats chicken right?” Zayn asked once Liam finally got him to calm down and finished getting dressed. 

“Oh no,” Liam gasped, trying to already hide his smirk. “We all went vegetarian last night.”

Zayn’s eyes went wide as he swatted Liam’s arm with the dish towel in his hand. “I hate you. I take back my proposal, horrible man.”

“Oh hush, you love me,” Liam joked and starting making kissing faces in Zayn’s direction. 

“Should’ve gone after Lou when I had the chance,” he grumbled before letting out a yelp as Liam picked him up and threw him easily over his shoulder. “Babe!”

“What was that I heard about Tommo?” Liam asked, a teasing tone to his voice. He was still carrying Zayn over his shoulder, something he realized he hadn’t done in some time and he was lacking practice. 

“Nothing. Just that he should’ve been our waiter for tonight,” he struggled to let out, squirming in Liam’s arms. “Babe, let me down before the family arrives.”

Liam gave Zayn’s arse a quick pat before letting him down, shaking his head fondly at his fiancé the entire time. “I’m so telling Lou what you said.”

“Like you don’t think he and Haz have some sort of mater and servant kink happening?” Zayn asked with a laugh, fixing his shirt that rose up when he was picked up. 

Liam’s hands immediately covered his ears while he shook his head, trying to dislodge Zayn’s previous comment from his memory. “Worst fiancé ever.”

“I’ll be sure to tell that to your next fiancé then,” Zayn laughed. “Now let’s hurry up and cook before everyone arrives, yeah?”

Like a well oiled machine the couple went into the kitchen and began preparing the family dinner. Liam was on salad duty while Zayn took over the rest of the meal, going into their garden to start grilling the chicken he prepared. They didn’t even need to exchange any words between the two of them, just simple looks and they could already tell what the other one was doing. It made Zayn smile and relax a little. Their families were going to be ecstatic for them, they were definitely making the right decision by getting engaged. As Zayn was bringing in the last bit of chicken from outside the bell rang, his hands going tight around the plate. 

“It’s my family,” Liam informed him, placing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Finish up in here and I’ll get the door.”

All Zayn could do was nod and try to occupy himself as Liam went to answer the door. The sounds of the Payne family entering his home did warm him up a bit. It was always good to see and hear them, Karen’s over the top excitement whenever she saw her son, Ruth and Nicola always quick with a friendly jab at Liam, typical older sister things. Geoff ready to ask Liam a million things he’d been holding in since the last time they saw each other. It made Zayn smile, feel normal even. It also made him even that more excited to see his own family soon. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before joining everyone in the living area, a huge, genuine smile on his face to see his extended family. Karen immediately let go of Liam and threw herself into Zayn’s arms, not that anyone expected her to do anything differently. He greeted the rest of the family just as enthusiastically as Liam hung up their coats and bags before getting them something to drink. 

Small talk was made about the weather and their drive down, how Loki was doing and how Ruth’s wedding plans were coming along. Zayn kept checking his phone, waiting rather impatiently for his own family to arrive. Liam just kept smiling over at him from where he sat next to his father, his eyes getting lost with how wide his smile was. It was little gestures like that that made Zayn believe that he could get through the night without having some sort of panic attack. When his family finally did arrive it was much in the same as when the Payne’s did. A lot of excited hugging and loud laughing. Doniya giving both boys a wink and a smirk as they were ushered into the dinning room to finally eat. As they ate Liam grabbed onto Zayn’s hand and just marveled at the table around them. It was a rare occurrence, but to have both their families together in one room was something special. Trisha and Karen talking up a storm even though both boys knew that they speak to each other almost everyday, Yaser and Geoff catching up as well. The girls discussing their dresses for Ruth’s wedding, normal family things. 

“So there was a reason why we invited you all down here,” Zayn announced after all the plates had been cleared. 

“It wasn’t just out of kindness of your heart?” Waliyah joked. 

“No,” he sneered at his younger sister. “Liam and I have an announcement to make.”

“Oh,” Trisha perked up immediately, sitting up straight in her chair and looking up at her son. “And the announcement is?”

“We’re engaged!” Liam exclaimed excitingly, holding up his hand that was wearing the gold band. 

“That’s it?” Nicola asked, sounding unimpressed. 

“Really?” Safaa added, sounding bored herself. 

“Yeah,” Zayn replied, a little shocked at the lack of excitement coming from everyone. He looked over at Liam who just shrugged his shoulders in response. “No ones excited for us? Thanks guys.”

“We are,” Yaser quickly told him to ease his sons obvious worries. 

“Yeah,” Doniya agreed. “It’s just that we all kinda noticed Liam’s ring when we walked into the door.”

“He’s so gesticulative that it was kinda hard not to notice,” Ruth laughed and patted her brother on the back. “That thing just smacks you right in the face honestly.”

Zayn looked down at Liam and fondly shook his head. “Should’ve known you’d blow our cover.”

“Me!” He squeaked in response. “You should’ve reminded me to take off the ring!”

“Oh so it’s now my fault?” Zayn accused, eyebrows raised. 

“Their first fight as an engaged couple,” Karen cooed fondly. “How lovely.”

“You’re not getting married anytime soon, right?” Ruth asked, butting into the playful tiff between Zayn and her brother. “My wedding is happening first, yeah?”

Liam rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Yea, Roo, you’re getting married first. No worries.”

“Good,” she replied with a content smile as sat back in her chair. “I guess congrats are in order then.”

“Oh yea!” Doniya laughed. “Congrats baby bro.”

“Worst family ever,” Zayn muttered and sat back down. “Not a single tear was shed.”

Liam looked over at his fiancé and gripped his hand tighter, loving how childish he got sometimes. “I cried and so did you, so that’s something.”

“You cried?” Safaa asked, a smile on her face. “Did anyone get in on camera? I need copies.”

“Yep, worst family ever,” Zayn laughed. 

“You wouldn’t change it for the world though,” Liam reminded him, pulling him in closer to kiss his temple. 

Zayn rolled his eyes as the family continued on with their previous conversations. If he was being honest with himself, Liam was right. The fact that no one really seemed shocked over their announcement was telling enough. They all knew it was the next inevitable step for them. Their mothers had been joking about it since Zayn could remember. He had called Ruth and Nicola his sisters for as long as he could remember, Liam doing the same with his sisters. There really wasn’t anything to truly be nervous about. All the important people in their lives knew now and they were all more than supportive. 

“I’m am kinda crossed that you didn’t ask me first,” Geoff added, smirking over at Zayn. The whole table began to laugh at that and Zayn’s reaction, wide eyes and a look of panic on his face. “It’s alright son, I’ll let this one pass because you make my boy happy.”

“Sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. He looked over at Liam once more who was smiling wide, obviously trying to cover the laugh that was building inside of him. “I’m glad I make him happy, the feeling is mutual.”

“Sap,” Liam cooed. “Love you.”

Zayn rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion and let out a soft chuckle. “Love you too, babe.”


	17. One Question part 3

“This is a bad idea.”

“Terrible idea.”

“I’m standing right here!” Niall huffed, hands immediately flying in the air in protest. “I think it’s the best idea we lot ever had honestly.”

Zayn stopped fluffing his hair to raise an eyebrow at that statement, Louis next to him doing the same. “Yeah, this idea was horrible.”

“What!” Niall exclaimed, feeling offended. “Besides this was your way of including me seeing that the best man position was already taken.”

“Sorry,” Louis replied with a shrug, not looking or sounding sorry at all. “Bus 1 for life, partners in crime.”

“And Liam’s excuse?” Niall asked, still offended with his hands now on his hips.

“You and Haz decided to play rock, paper, scissors for the position,” Louis reminded him, going back to straightening out his jacket and hair in front of the full length mirror. “You know his go to is always fire and that always wins.”

“Sneaky shit,” he muttered under his breath, a fond smile on his face as he spoke.

“That’s my husband you’re offending Horan, easy now,” Louis teased, smiling around the word husband. “You were tasked with a big duty here, bro.”

“Marrying me and Liam,” Zayn softly reminded him, still fixing little odds and ends of his outfit in front of the mirror. “Wouldn’t want anyone else to do it.”

“Lies,” Niall laughed and joined the duo by the mirror. “You sure it’ll be legit, right?”

“It better be!” Zayn exclaimed. “Or you wasted your money on shit man.”

“It is,” Louis huffed and fixed his fringe one more time. “I wonder if Hazza and Liam are this tense right now.”

“I can always go check,” Niall offered. “Calm down Liam’s nerves if need be.”

Zayn smiled at Niall through the mirror. “Can you? You know how he gets when he starts to freak. Just reassure him that it’ll be okay and that I love him, yeah?”

“Got it,” Niall replied with a sharp nod. “See you out there lads.”

Niall exited the suite and made his way across the hall to where Liam’s suite was. When Liam and Zayn asked him to marry them he was affronted at first, feeling a bit left out. Louis was without a doubt the only person Zayn wanted as his best man, understandably. Liam couldn’t decided between the other two boys, told them to fight amongst themselves. In true Harry form he automatically suggested a rousing game of rock, paper, scissors, which Niall lost. He should’ve known that Harry always cheated by picking fire, which wasn’t even an option by the way! That’s when Zayn and Liam approached him to be their minister. Niall was of course taken aback by their proposal. He was in no way equipped to do that, having no idea what he actually was supposed to do. Louis found an online course that cost next to nothing and within forty eight hours Niall James Horan was an ordained minister. Simple as that. Now he was even more nervous than he original thought he was going to be. Best man was a simple, easy task. Hold the ring and stand by their side. Now he had to marry them, after Liam and Zayn he was the most important person of the day.

“Can I come it?” Niall asked as he softly knocked on the suite door.

“Niall, thank god,” Harry groaned, practically dragging the boy in my the collar. “Liam has been pacing for the last five minutes. He won’t stop!”

“Payno, you okay?” Niall tentatively asked, his eyes following as Liam paced back and forth, sure to put a hole in the carpeting.

“I’m getting married today,” Liam said, shaking his head while he still paced. “I-I’m freaking out boys.”

“We can see,” Harry laughed and shrugged his shoulders while looking over at Niall.

“Payno,” Niall called him again, placing a soft hand on Liam’s arm. “Why don’t we stop the pacing for a bit and just relax and calm down, okay?”

Liam looked over at Niall who was smiling wide and Harry who was slowly nodding his head in agreement. He finally stopped moving about the room and sighed. “O-okay.”

“Good,” Harry let out. “Now come sit down Liam.”

“Okay,” he agreed again and sat on the couch that faced opposite the door. “Nialler, you just saw Zayn, how is he?”

“Good. Nervous but good,” he answered honestly. “You know how he is around Tommo, those two are menaces together.”

“He’s nervous?” Liam cooed, a small look of fondness washing over his face. “I’m glad he’s nervous. He was so calm and relaxed during rehearsal last night, sort of freaked me out.”

“Li,” Harry began and sat next to him, placing a firm hand on Liam’s knee. “There’s no reason to be nervous. It’s just Zayn, it just us. You lads were practically married since the moment you met. All it is now is a piece of paper stating that it’s legal.”

“You did not just say that,” Liam laughed. “If Tommo heard you say that, he’d end you. Husband or not, you’d be a goner.”

“We just won’t tell him then, yeah,” Harry suggested, combing his fingers through his hair. “Quickly changing subjects, Niall any words of wisdom from the other groom?”

Niall shook his head and tried to contain a laugh, only Harry could so gracefully stick is foot in his mouth. “Just that he loves you and can’t wait to see you out there and whatnot.”

“Such a romantic,” Harry snorted. “And he’s the bloke that’s marrying you. Good luck.”

The three boys remained sitting in a comfortable silence until Geoff knocked on the door to tell them that everyone was ready for them. Liam stood up and let out a sigh, his whole body feeling like it was tingling with nerves. Excited nerves but nerves nonetheless. They took their positions as the noise from the crowd came to an end and the music softly began to play. First to walk down the aisle were the parents. Karen and Geoff followed by Trisha and Yaser, both mums with obvious tears in their eyes. Ruth and Nicola were next, being escorted by Andy, they all stood behind Harry making up the rest of Liam’s wedding party. Zayn’s sisters walked down together followed by Louis who was smiling widely as he walked, waving to anyone he noticed. Liam could faintly see Zayn at the end of the aisle and his heart immediately began to speed up. Zayn’s walk wasn’t filled with all the pomp and circumstance that brides had on their wedding day but it was close enough. Liam had argued that seeing Zayn was the one to propose he should be the one waking down the aisle, it made sense to him.

When Zayn finally reached him Liam had to remind himself that he wasn’t allowed to kiss him, not yet at least. Both of their smiles were wide, heartbeats racing in the best way possible. This was it, they were going to be officially married today. As Niall began the ceremony sniffles could be heard throughout the crowd, specifically Karen’s. They tried to keep their wedding as traditional as possible but of course Niall had to go off script a few times, which no one really objected to. They felt like it was good to go against the mold a little, have a little fun with their wedding. Niall made jokes that had Harry in stitches, his signature laugh echoing throughout the hall. Niall told them it was time to exchange vows and Liam’s throat started to close up, this was the part he was most nervous about. Openly showing his emotions, privately he didn’t care how much be peppered Zayn with love and devotion, now everyone would know.

“Liam,” Niall prompted him with a nod to speed things along. “Go.”

“Zayn,” he began with a sigh. He briefly saw the crowed out of the corner of his eyes, all waiting with bated breath. He held Zayn’s hands in his, both sharing the same smile on their faces. “Close to seven years ago you came into my life and everything changed, everything changed for the better. You were so patient with me in the early days even when you had no reason to be honestly. I was messy, unsure, and confused, but you weren’t. You were the rock that held us together time and time again, never wavering. Even when we were separated you made sure I knew that wherever I was, I was loved by you. I don’t think I could ever repay you for that amount of love. But today I want to begin a new life and you’re the only person I want to begin that life with.”

“Wow okay,” Niall cleared his throat as he spoke. Wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve. “Zayn.”

“Jaan,” he began, his smile still as bright as he blinked back tears that were threatening to fall. He looked deeply at Liam, trying to communicate to him with just looks, shared smiles and wide eyes. “You read me like a book from the very beginning, seeing the parts of me that I didn’t want anyone to see, knocking down walls I didn’t even know I had built up. You encompass every kind of love there is in this world for me. Friend, brother, boyfriend, fiancé, and now soon to be husband. If someone would have told nineteen year old Zayn that we’d be here right now, he’d laugh at them. When it was rough it was rough, no denying that. God, but when it was good, it was amazing. Earth shattering even, a kind of love that’ll make people jealous, something was innate between us, almost like it just came naturally to love one another. Today we get to continue that love and share it with everyone we hold so dear to us. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Wankers,” Niall mumbled now being obvious as he wiped at his eyes, Harry even handing him a handkerchief. “Cheers.”

“Oh for fucks sake,” Louis groaned from behind Zayn, rolling his eyes. “Such a romantic Malik, honestly.”

“Lou,” Harry hissed at him. “Stop ruining the moment.”

“You finished?” Liam sniffled, asking his friends as everyone laughed. He was taken aback by the amount of people who were crying or tearing up at their words. “I kinda want to finish getting married.”

“Sorry,” Niall apologized with a wince. He instructed Zayn and Liam to exchange rings which led to bizarre knuckle kissing that Niall didn’t really need to know about. “Okay. By the power vested in me but some bloody online site Lou found, I now pronounce you married. Gentlemen you may kiss.”

Zayn looked over at Liam, a cheesy grin on his face, the crinkles by his eyes evident. This was the Liam he loved the most, the purest form of his love being shown on his face. Zayn grabbed Liam’s cheeks and moved in closer to finally kiss his husband. It was hard to contain their collective smiles while they kissed, their friends and family applauding them. “We’re married.”

“Holy shit,” Liam whispered in astonishment against Zayn’s lips.

“Ladies and gentlemen it’s with great pleasure that I introduce you to the new Mr. and Mr. Payne-Malik,” Niall introduced, his voice booming with pride.

“Malik-Payne,” Liam corrected him, moving his face from Zayn’s. He winked at Niall who rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, ladies and gentlemen the new and improved Malik-Payne’s,” he reintroduced them as the crowd continued to applaud and cheer for the couple.

“Let’s go husband,” Zayn said tugging at Liam’s hand. “Our public awaits us.”

“So bossy,” Liam teased with a smirk. “Husband.”

“Just move Payno,” Louis huffed. “I gotta wee.”

“Something's never changed,” Harry laughed as he bounced on his heels besides Liam. “But get a move on boys, I gotta wee too.”


	18. Versace

"Stop giggling," Liam huffed out, trying to stifle his own laugh. 

"Stop being ridiculous," Zayn countered, still laughing, his tongue pressed behind his teeth, cheeks rising, laugh lines across his face. 

"Come on Zed, let me take your photo," he tried to convince his boyfriend for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few minutes. 

"You have enough pictures of me," Zayn said, swatting Liam's hands away as he started to make a grabbing gesture. "There's enough pictures of me on the internet and his house."

"Your Versace pictures deserve better," Liam replied, dropping his hands and getting serious. "We're supposed to believe someone who loved you took those photos. Please, my Nan could've done better. Let me do it. You still have the clothes and I have wicked skills on my iPhone. Add a seductive filter or something."

Zayn sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch he was currently sitting on. The Versace photos were a tad abysmal, he looked great which was always a plus. But, the photos didn't show off him or the clothes properly. His people and Versace didn't seem to care, as long as they got a cut of the profits. It had bothered him for some time now, this was supposed to be a huge fashion campaign and it was being treated like a child showcasing their hobby. Newsflash, the child needed to find a new hobby. For the last ten minutes Liam was now trying to convince him to have their own fashion shoot, mostly to just cheer Zayn up. 

"Please," Liam begged, pushing out his bottom lip in an adorable pout that always got to Zayn. 

Zayn lazily traced Liam's bottom lip with his thumb, humming when Liam grazed the digit with his teeth. "Fi-fine."

Liam immediately beamed with excitement, jumping off the couch. "I love you. You won't regret this."

Ten minutes later Zayn was standing in one of their numerous closets, pulling out the specific clothes he wore for the Versus campaign. Liam was doing something outside in the garden, only telling Zayn to hurry up before they lost the daylight. Zayn undressed in the middle of the room, pulling on a pair of black jeans and a leather coat. Liam wanted to be as authentic as possible, copying each look Zayn wore in the campaign photos. After he was properly dressed he checked out his chair quickly in the mirror, letting it out of the tie he had holding it together on the top of his head. He shook his head to let the hair fall where it pleased and walked towards their garden. Once outside he just observed Liam who was running back and forth setting things up, Watson running right behind him thinking it was a game. A boisterous laugh leaving Zayn's mouth alerted Liam to his presence. 

"Beautiful," Liam declared after getting a good look at Zayn. "Let me get this terror back inside and we'll begin. Stand by the tree and I'll be right with you babe."

Liam dragged Watson back into the home by his collar as he whined the entire time, disappointed that play time was already over. He made sure the door was closed securely to make sure none of their other dogs decided to crash the party. He walked to where Zayn stood by the tree and adjusted the jacket he was wearing, not saying a word. He kneeled down to adjust the jeans and smiled up at Zayn, wiggling his eyebrows as seductively as possible. Zayn just shook his head and laughed, he was dating a toddler stuck in a grown mans body, but he loved him anyway. Liam stood back up and slowly walked backwards, taking his iPhone out of his back pocket. He pressed a few button on his phone, just nodding his head the entire time. 

"Okay, just act natural," Liam instructed. 

"Cause this is natural," Zayn scoffed. "An impromptu photo shoot in me garden." 

"Quiet on set!" Liam barked out his direction. "We're gonna lose the sun if you don't pipe down."

With another shake of his head Zayn got silent and just let Liam shoot away, only moving when instructed. He knew never to interrupt when Liam got into his creative zone. He trusted him, trusted that he wasn't going to make him look foolish. Zayn knew that the photos were going to showcasing him in a way he'd want. After twenty minutes in front of the tree he was told to put on a shirt and go into the bedroom for their next location. Once he was changed again he walked into their room as Liam was fixing the blinds, making the room as dark as possible. He had no idea what Liam's plans were but he just went with it. Liam instructed him to lay on the bed, leaning up on just one elbow. Like before, Zayn just went with whatever Liam told him to do because he trusted him and his odd vision. After a few shots were taking as he leaned on his elbow he was told to move up towards the headboard to capture a more relaxed feeling. Whatever. 

"Are these even coming out okay?" Zayn finally asked once they wrapped their second set of shots. 

"Babe, you're doing amazing," Liam told him honestly, cradling his cheek in his palm. "They should've used me for the shoot. Now go put on the white outside and meet me in the bathroom."

Zayn sighed and shook his head once more. "You're relentless."

"Love you too," he replied. "Now hurry."

The last shoot lasted another fifteen minutes with Liam having Zayn sit in the tub as he took the photos. It was all a tad bizarre but hopefully Liam knew what he was doing and what his vision for this whole nonsense shoot was. After the shoot was completed Liam wouldn't let Zayn see the photos until he was changed and back in their bedroom. Liam grabbed his laptop and his USB port and sat on the bed, working his magic and waiting for Zayn to change. Once Zayn got back in the room Liam was still silent, clicking away on his computer. 

"Done?" Zayn asked, crawling into the bed. 

"Shh," Liam silenced him, never looking up from the screen in front of him. "Almost."

"So secretive," Zayn joked, trying to look over Liam's shoulder at the laptop, but he just kept moving it away from prying eyes. 

"Patience love."

Zayn sighed indignantly as he waited, even though he really had no idea what he was really waiting for, but Liam told him to wait. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and played a game or two of solitaire, losing each time, to take his mind off the wait. Liam kept tapping away at his keyboard, clicking the mouse a few times to probably seem busier than he actually was. It was slowly driving Zayn crazy. He wanted to know what Liam was doing, especially with some of the more seductive photos he took on the bed and in the tub. Those pictures were not allowed to leave this home and no one else but the two of them were allowed to see them. He could just imagine the joke Louis would make at his expense if he saw them. Like Louis hadn't done something similar with Harry after he cut his hair recently. 

"Done," Liam declared proudly, shifting his laptop over from his lap to the empty spot between them. 

"Li-Liam," Zayn gasped in awe. He looked between the laptop and Liam a few times, making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. The photos looks incredible, especially after Liam used his impressive photoshop skills. They looked way more professional that his supposed professional ones. He didn't look foolish, he looked like a proper high fashion model. "Wow."

"You like them?" Liam asked timidly, his top teeth chewing at his bottom lip. "I-I tried to make them look as professional as an iPhone can make them."

"These are amazing," he spoke in a hushed voice, his fingers ghosting over the screen. Touching to make sure it was really real, that he wasn't imaging what was right in front of him. "They look, they look beautiful."

"Well, the subject wasn't hard to shoot," Liam joked. "The camera loves you, any camera loves you."

"The photographer loves you," Liam argued, smiling his wide smile. "Thinking about sending them anonymously to Versace, show them how good you truly are in front of the camera."

"Don't you dare," he snorted, playfully hitting Liam's arm. 

"Fine," Liam gave him. "Maybe I'll make these are Christmas cards, send them out to our friends and family. Our mum's would get a kick outta them."

"Sure Liam," he pacified him, knowing never to rile Liam up when he went on one of his many tangents, not matter where the tangent took him. "And the more provocative shots? Where are those going?"

"I'm blowing them up and putting them around the house," he teased, laughing as Zayn's eyes grew wider in shock and horror. 

"Liam!"

"I'm not kidding," he replied, clicking the mouse to show Zayn the photos. "Babe, can you imagine them around the house? Over the bed? Maybe the tub?"

"I'm not going to win this fight," he gave in with a sharp exhale. "You're lucky I love you Liam James Payne."

"I know," he laughed gladly accepting a kiss from the love of his life and his lifelong muse in all things creative.


	19. Beside You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off this prompt: Prompt: 'I wish I was beside you'

Liam was tossing and turning, not able to get comfortable even though the bed he was in was practically made to his form around his body perfectly. He was exhausted, his head and eyes aching. His day was busy, meetings and recording, basking in the sun of Los Angeles when he got a moment free to eat. All in all it was a productive and positive day. Now though, the clock on the bedside table was yelling at him, telling him that it was late and he should be sleeping. He couldn't. Something felt off, not quite right. He'd slept alone plenty of times, especially on the tour bus and hotel rooms. Why couldn't he sleep in his own bed? It was obviously a no brainer for Liam. Something was missing, someone was missing. Someone who was over five thousand miles away. Someone who was probably still sleeping or already waking up and starting their day. Liam sighed as he thought over his options. 

The first option was to head to the gym around the corner and work out until he fell asleep, he'd done it numerous times before. A couple of rounds of boxing or run a few miles on the treadmill usually tired him out. The people that worked the front desk knew him by now, knew that he was only there because he couldn't sleep. They just smiled politely as he dragged himself in. Liam's second option was swallowing his pride and pick up the phone and make the phone call he was avoiding. Not avoiding for bad reasons, just avoiding because he didn't want to look desperate. But he was, he was desperate to sleep. He needed to hear the familiar voice that lulled him to sleep for close to seven years now. A voice that during the early years was filled with stories of home and hoped and dreams. A voice that eventually turned into a mans voice, who still spoke of home but now with sadness instead of joy. A voice that now isn't sad about home anymore, not much anyway. His home was now Liam, anywhere that he was with Liam was home. 

"Bloody embarrassing," Liam muttered to himself as he blindly grabbed for his phone. The light from his phone temporarily blinded him as he punched in his passcode and pressed call on number that was simply saved under a heart emoji. "Such a child, Liam."

"'Ello?"

"Hi," Liam sighed after his call was picked up. "Umm were you sleeping?"

"Just woke up," he replied with a well timed stifled yawn. "Got meetings and whatnot today, was told to get up early."

"Good, good," Liam responded, rather cold and calculated sounding. Shocking himself a little.

"Liam," he sighed. "Babe, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"I can't sleep, I miss you," he easily gave in with a sigh. "It just doesn't feel right without you, Zed."

"I wish I was beside you," Zayn whispered softly into the phone. He was still laying in bed himself, the ringing phone actually waking him up and not his alarm. He just didn't have it in him to tell Liam the truth, especially after hearing his voice. 

"Me too," he sniffled, trying horribly to hide his emotion. 

"Soon," Zayn assured him. "Two more nights and then we'll be together for weeks on end that you'll get sick of me, babe. Promise."

"Not possible," Liam laughed. "I feel like a knob, calling you because I can't sleep. It's like asking my mum for a bedtime story at night."

"Liam, stop being ridiculous," he told him firmly, shuffling in their bed. Their bed. It just seemed so empty without Liam next to him, always did really. He could sympathize with Liam's struggle, it was always hard to sleep without his love next to him. "We've been lucky to be next to each other for close to seven years, distance sucks."

Liam shifted on the bed, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible. He had enough room to spread out but he chose to stick close to his side of the bed, leaving Zayn's side practically untouched. "Tell me a story."

"A story?" Zayn laughed. "Like once upon a time?"

"We use to stay up until the sun rose while on tour just talking," Liam reminded him, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand that wasn't holding the phone. "I miss that. I miss hearing stories about your life."

"You know all about my life," he playfully scoffed, but decided to pacify him anyway. "Did I ever tell you the story about when I first saw you?"

"At McDonald's, yeah," Liam answered. 

"No," he replied. "During 2008, your first try on the show."

"You watched me?" Liam shrieked, half in embarrassment and the other half in horror. 

"Babe, it was the biggest show on the earth and I was supposed to audition that year too. I wanted to scope out who I was gonna compete against," he explained, sitting up against the headboard, his fingers dancing along the white comforter. "But I saw you and you blew me away. So young and so talented. I was glad I didn't let my mum drag me down to audition."

"You would've blown the judges away, Zed," Liam told him confidently. "Your voice is bloody brilliant."

"This isn't about me," he gently reminded Liam. "I saw you and just wanted to keep watching you. Mum and dad both looked at each other after you auditioned and nodded in agreement that you had what it took to win. Young but a powerful voice."

"You remember all of this?" Liam asked in astonishment. Zayn was easily recalling events from almost nine years ago with such ease. 

"I do. I remember thinking to myself I needed to find you after Simon let you go," Zayn continued with a sigh. "I wanted to protect you, tell you that everything was going to be okay and that you had nothing to fear."

"I was gutted," Liam recalled. "Absolutely gutted. Going back to school was rough and torture."

"I wanted to go to Wolverhampton and find Liam Payne. The boy with an amazing voice but questionable fashion and hair choices," Zayn laughed at Liam's gasp of shock. "I wanted to find him and show him the world." 

"You didn't have a passport until you joined the group," Liam laughed. 

"Semantics Liam, semantics," Zayn scoffed at the comment. "I just wanted to tell that boy that everything was going to be okay. One bad outcome shouldn't mold his future. Things were eventually going to be okay."

"And two years later they were," Liam sighed, stifling another yawn. He was finally fighting sleep, exhausted but not wanting to hang up on Zayn just yet. "Auditioned again and met you lot."

"And the rest is history," Zayn finished for him. "Got to meet the love of my life in bloody fast food restaurant."

Liam smiled fondly at that memory. It was small group of the boys who auditioned grabbing a bite to eat in between rehearsals and whatnot. Aiden recognized Liam and invited him to sit with them. The rest was history. Zayn got lost in Liam, his stories and small smiles and blushes when someone complimented him or mentioned the series from two years before. The rest of the group and room was blur, Zayn and Liam getting lost in their own little world. Just talking on and on about music, comics, and life. It was the best unofficial first date of their entire lives. 

"Go to sleep, love," Zayn told him as Liam once again unsuccessfully tried to hide another yawn. "I got to get ready for the day anyway."

"I love you, Zed," Liam told him, his voice low and sleepy. 

"I love you too," he told him softly. "Two more days, babe. We can do this."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Goodnight my love."


	20. Start Spreading The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both of the boys are enjoying their time in New York City

Liam was buzzing. Watching the New York City skyline whiz by as he was taken back to his hotel. It was rare to see such a massive city like this, quiet, almost desolate. Few people walked by on the streets, stumbling out of bars or making their way to and from work. It reminded him of London a little bit, or Los Angeles. But New York is the city that never sleeps, unless it's five in the morning on a Tuesday that is. He knows he should be exhausted or at least a little groggy with all the traveling Liam's been doing. He was just in Los Angeles not even a full two days ago, Boston this morning and now New York. His body was just use to the rapid time changes, he had to learn quickly. The east side of Central Park game into his eyesight and he knew he was almost there, almost at the one place he wanted to be so desperately all night. The car was parked in front of the hotel a few minutes later, he thanked then driver and wished him a goodnight before jetting out the car and into the lobby. Exchanging head nods with some of the staff as he walked towards the lifts heading up to the penthouse suite. 

The beautiful thing about staying at the Plaza hotel was that the lift doors just opened and he was in his suite. You need a special keycard to even activate the lift to make it to the top floor. Pretty fancy stuff for a bloke who didn't see himself as all that fancy. Bags and clothes were scattered all over the living room area, shoes lined up perfectly by the large windows the lined the room. Boots, trainers, even a pair of ADIDAS flip flops that he must've nicked from Louis during the last time they hung out at his and Harry's place. The view was incredible, as soon as he got to the suite earlier that afternoon he must've taken close to a hundred pictures. He could see the park perfectly, even seen the bloody horse carriages that trotted along the perimeter of the area. Poor things. The best view of all though was the body nestled on the king sized master bed. The bed was massive but he made himself look so small, smaller than he usually looked. Liam tried to unrobe as quickly and quietly as possible. He didn't want to wake sleeping beauty. 

"Hey," he was greeted groggily from the body in the bed. 

Liam cursed under his breath, upset. "Go back to sleep, babe. It's late."

"It's okay," he told him. "I just went off an hour ago."

"Do anything interesting?" Liam asked, crawling into bed and wrapping is arms and legs tightly around Zayn. 

"Watch the Mets lose, again and saw Harry on James Corden," he answered, stifling a yawn as he spoke. "Have a good night?" 

"Better now," he confirmed, giving Zayn's middle a squeeze. "It's good to be back here with you, Zed."

"Gotta make the most of our time together," Zayn agreed, nodding his head. "I gotta go for my weekly exercise tomorrow."

"Must be tough walking to and from an empty apartment building all afternoon," Liam joked, a giggle leaving his mouth. He nestled his face into Zayn's back, kissing between his shoulder blades softly. 

"Thank god the weathers gonna be nice," he jokingly added. "What time is it anyway?"

"Half pass five," Liam yawned, looking behind him at the clock next to the bed. He looked out the window that was looking over the park as well. "Babe, look."

"What?"

"The sun is rising over the park," he marveled. "Let's take a picture."

"Leeyum," he moaned. "It's late, I'm knackered, let's go to bed."

Liam untangled himself from Zayn's limbs and hopped out the bed in a hurry. He grabbed his phone off the desk that was on the far side of the bedroom. Time for more gorgeous pictures. He opened his camera and clicked, taking more pictures. He'd been in New York more time than he could count in the last six and a half years but he had never seen the sun rise over Central Park before. It was a moment he didn't want to forget. "Babe, look. It's beautiful."

Zayn groaned. He had been in New York for the last month, seeing his fair share of sun rises and sets. Liam was right though, it wasn't everyday you got to see the sun rise over the east side of the city, especially with the love of your life. He groaned once more as he got out of bed and joined Liam by the window. He wrapped his arms around Liam's waist, resting his head on his shoulder and looked out the window. "You enjoying this?"

"Now I am," he sighed, letting his body relax against Zayn's. 

"I'm proud of you," he whispered into the silent bedroom. 

"Wha-why?" He asked, taken aback. 

"You're doing your solo thing and I'm proud of you for that. You're staying true to yourself," Zayn explained. "Getting to do what you want to do."

"You paved the way for me to do that," Liam countered. "If your music was so raw and authentic, I wouldn't be able to do what I want to do."

Zayn blushed at the compliment, only Liam could turn him into a schoolboy and complete mush. "Love you."

Liam turned off his phone, stretched and placed it back on the desk, trying not to disturb their position. "Let's go to bed now."

"Yeah," Zayn agreed, grabbing Liam's hand and dragging him back into bed. They resumed their earlier position, hands and legs tangled together in mess of limbs. 

"Love you," he told him softly, kissing the back of Zayn's neck.


	21. Welcome To New York

Liam was excited as he stepped on the lift, even though it was half past two in the morning and he just flew for close to nine hours. Paddy was falling asleep standing up, poor sod, some security he was. All he kept mumbling on the car ride from the airport was how he just wanted to crash, didn’t matter where, any place cushioned was he only preference. Checking in was a semi hassle, the lights on the balcony had gone out the day before so there was a mad dash to fix and replace them before Liam’s stay. He didn’t care, the longer he stood on his feet the more tired he was actually feeling. Maybe Paddy did have the right idea. He was in Buffalo on Sunday, flew to Milan that night, and left the same day to come back to New York. He hadn’t felt that jet lagged since he first flew to America almost six years ago. It was old age settling in, or so that’s what Paddy told him. 

From what Liam could see the suite was well, sweet. Spacious and homey, the air conditioner was blaring, making the room feel like he just stepped in to the middle of Antarctica, perfect sleep temperature. He tossed his backpack on the sofa near the front door, hearing Paddy grunt behind him when he did. Guess that’s where he wanted to throw himself down to sleep. After rolling his eyes at his security’s exasperation, he removed his bag from the sofa and gave the cushions a quick pat.

“Go pass out old man,” Liam jokingly instructed. “I’ll ring you in the morning when I wake up.”

“Go,” Paddy ordered, sighing in content as he laid on the sofa. “Don’t wake me until the sun is at least out, okay?”

“Got it old man,” he agreed, saluting and nodding before heading to the master bedroom. 

The sun was out when Liam woke up the next day, well, it was barely out by the time he awoke. Checking his phone he was it was a little past seven, meaning he almost got close to five hours of sleep, which for him felt like a decade of sleep. He knew not to bother Paddy, at least not yet. He was feeling courteous, letting him sleep a little longer before their long day officially started. Liam on the other hand wanted to start his day, he hadn’t had a chance to properly explore his room the night before. What better time than now? He got out of bed and headed directly to the balcony attached to his bedroom, seeing the New York City skyline immediately as he walked outside. Seeing the high rise buildings, the new and improved World Trade Center. It was breath taking and awe inspiring actually.

He did a little more exploring, testing out the cushions on the chairs that lined up on the opposite side of the balcony door, swiping his fingers across the glass table that was between the chairs, taking everything around him in. Most New York City apartments could probably fit perfectly into this balcony. It was huge and glamourous and a great place to stay while in New York. He turned to walk back into the bedroom when he noticed it, the showerhead right next to the door. There was an outdoor shower! Now he was in the lap of luxury, he’d been to some amazing places and saw so many amazing things, but this, this was the cream of the crop. His morning was now decided for him, he was going to take a shower outside to start his day in New York. He rushed inside the room to retrieve his phone and toiletries from his backpack before heading back outside. His outdoor shower was probably the best he’d ever had. It was the most private he had felt but wildly public at the same time. He was on the top floor of the hotel but someone, somehow, could probably see him, especially with all the tall apartment buildings surrounding him. 

He was feeling the music he was playing, placing his phone on the balcony ledge. Dancing a little as he lathered up, feeling all kinds of silly and childish but loving every second of it. It wasn’t often that he got to just enjoy a shower, always feeling he was in as rush to get it done to move on to the next thing he needed to do. This morning he could take his time, actually enjoy the concept of a shower, as mundane as it sounded a long shower was a luxury nowadays. Singing along to whatever playlist that was playing from his phone, knowing not to be too loud so he wouldn’t accidently draw attention to himself. Then he’d probably receive the wrong kind of attention. He turned off the shower once he was done, wrapping a towel around his waist, planning to drip dry in the New York hot summer sun. It was the perfect opportunity to take a picture, him half naked with New York behind him. He snapped the photo and instantly put it up on Instagram, sharing his caring. He walked over to the lounge chairs to properly dry off, his phone buzzing immediately. 

“Hey babe.”

“Hey babe,” Zayn scoffed. “Why didn’t you tell me your back in the city?”

Liam rolled his eyes, when did he start dating his mother? “I got in late and was knackered so I fell asleep, sorry.”

“And I have to wake up to this,” Zayn replied in a huff. “A cold, lonely bed without my boyfriend first of all, and now a half-naked picture of him all over the internet. Rude.”

“You love me,” he teased, resting his feet on the mirrored table, crossing them at the ankle.  
“I’d love you more if you were in bed with me,” Zayn groaned. “I need my teddy.”

“You’ve got one on your leg now, love,” Liam pointed out jokingly. “So I’m never too far babe.”

Zayn sighed, he knew it was pointless to go around in circles with Liam, they’d never accomplish anything. “Enjoy the outdoor shower?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He shrieked. “You stayed here last year and didn’t tell me about it once.”

“I stayed there while our apartment was being renovated, one, and two, I stayed in the middle of winter, I was not going to freeze my bullocks off just because it looked cool,” he explained.   
“Semantics,” Liam sneered. “We’re trying it out while I’m here, yeah?”

Zayn sighed again, it was way too early in the morning to deal with this, especially since he was all alone in his bed, his boyfriend on the complete opposite side of the city. “How bout we try our shower out first? And our bed perhaps too? Okay?”

“Fine,” Liam agreed with a gleeful laugh. “Then we’ll come back here and shower outside. I’ve got this room booked until Friday.”

“How about we take it one day at a time, yeah? Do Fallon, be a superstar and then just come home to me,” Zayn told him. 

Liam uncrossed his legs and stood up, stretching his hands above his head. “Guess I got to start my day now, unfortunately. Keep that bed warm and the shower cold.”

“Done,” he complied, stifling a yawn. “See you soon babe, love you.”

“Love you too.”


	22. How The Tables Have Turned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow up to the Jersey Girl drabble.

It was hushed talking and quiet giggles as they rushed up the stairs. Briefcases, shoes, and socks left on the stairs. It all felt so juvenile but thrilling. Both of their hearts beating fast, blood rushing to places it hadn't been in ages, eons ago it felt like. They weren't doing anything wrong but it felt like they'd get caught and immediately be grounded by their mums. Two grown men in their twenties, both fathers before they were ready, taking pleasure in childish things. 

"Bedroom," Zayn panted into Liam's parted mouth. He was hopping on one foot, still trying to pry off his sock. 

"S-shower," Liam stuttered, undoing the buttons to his suit jacket. Out of all the days he decided to wear a three piece suit was the day he played hooky to have a quickie with his boyfriend. Such an amateur Payne, really. 

Zayn raised his eyebrows and smirked at Liam's suggestion. It wasn't a bad one, the bathroom was closer than the bedroom after all. He pushed Liam up against the closed door and kissed him once more, helping undo all the god forsaken buttons on the suit jackets. "Too many layers."

“I know,” Liam groaned, pushing his hips forward, trying to get any contact with Zayn’s lower half. He felt like his skin was on fire, his neck and jaw burning with the sensation of Zayn’s beard being nuzzled up against his skin. 

“B-babe,” he whined at the friction. It was all-consuming, the electricity he felt in the pit on his stomach, the way his heart felt like it was going to beat out his chest. Also the calm he felt, how being around Liam made him calm in ways he hadn’t felt since Nasir was born. Crap, don’t think about your kid at this exact moment Malik, come on. “Shower, now!”

Liam giggled at Zayn’s order, twisting his body away from the door to turn the handle, even though someone was being very distracting by kissing the back of his neck and biting at his earlobe. “Let me open the door, Z.”

The bathroom door was finally opened without further incident, thankfully. Hushed talking and quiet giggles quickly escalated into deep groans and gasps. Liam finally had his suit jacket off, now undoing his belt as Zayn peeled off his cashmere sweater, placing it carefully on the closed toilet lid. He may be in the middle of the heat of passion but he also knew he wasn’t going to ruin a perfectly good and expensive item of clothing. Belts were being undone and ripped off, metal clasps clanking on the tiled floor. Every single touch had been above clothing, like they were kids again, but it still made both their heads foggy and dizzy with desire, need. Jeans and suit pants were being pushed to the floor, eager men hopping out of them, mouths attached to each other, panting into each other. 

“Leeyum,” Zayn mewled, the name coming out almost breathlessly. Liam has pushed himself forward, grinding their hips together. It was too much friction but not enough at the same time, boxers getting in the way of everything.

“I got you,” he reassured him, breathing heavy into Zayn’s ear, leaning over his body to finally turn on the shower. He spun Zayn around, his back to Liam’s front, once again grinding his hips slowly, in circles. The sounds his boyfriend was making was echoing through the room.

“If you keep-fuck-doing that, we won’t-we won’t be able to make it into the shower,” he hissed, looking over his shoulder as Liam smirked. Bastard. 

They parted briefly to both step in the shower, still with their boxers on. Everything was moving too fast but not fast enough for them. Their minds were clouded in passion, want, and need. Zayn this time pressed his front against Liam’s back as he turned on the shower, cold water hitting them instantly as a way to cool themselves off. Smart idea actually, but Zayn would never tell Liam that, he had to have some pride. Zayn grinded slowly against Liam making him throw his head back and rest against Zayn’s shoulder where he instantly bent forward to capture his mouth in a kiss. It was awkward and sloppy due to the need and the shower water pelting down on them, neither of them seeming to mind. Hands began to wonder and grasp at exposed skin, Zayn gripping tight to Liam’s hips as Liam grabbed a handful of Zayn’s hair to pull him in closer. Liam pushing back as Zayn kept pushing forward making both of them gasp and groan into each other’s mouth, biting their own lips to suppress the sounds they were making. 

“Ba-babe,” Liam groaned, letting go of Zayn’s hair to grab at the wall in front of him, to keep himself upright and balanced. He moved his face way, hanging his head as the shower beat at the back of his neck. “Slow. We’ve got all afternoon.”

Zayn’s laughed echoed in the room, it was filled a teasing tone and more than likely he was smirking his signature smirk. “I know.”

Liam groaned, knowing exactly what Zayn meant. They had all afternoon meaning the shower was just the first stop on their long, long afternoon adventure. Being with Zayn was great, amazing, besides the sex, even though that rarely happened. Their kids got along swimmingly as did their parents. Karen and Trisha probably spent hours on the phone each week, talking nonsense and gossip all at the same time. Their fathers had even spoken to each other over the phone once or twice. It was all too perfect, they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Three months together and not a single complaint from anyone. Lillian and Nasir loved that their fathers were together, that meant that got to see each other more often, not just at school. Karen would watch them when Zayn and Liam wanted a little alone time or whenever Trisha made the trip down to Wolverhampton she would volunteer her babysitting services. All in all everyone was happy and content with their life, for now. 

“Fuck,” Liam cried, getting himself smacked back into reality as Zayn snaked his hand under the waistband of Liam’s boxers. 

“That’s kind of the point, yeah,” Zayn laughed, his free hand gripping Liam’s hip tighter, pressing him closer to his body. 

Liam pressed his back against Zayn once more, throwing his head back again on Zayn’s shoulder. He just let Zayn continue, pushing Liam’s boxers down letting them fall with a wet flop at his feet. Closing his eyes and letting out little breathless noises and Zayn slowly, painfully slowly, began to pump him. It was beautiful torture, the agony of the glacial pace of Zayn’s hand, but the realization that release was in his near future. Zayn nibbled at Liam’s earlobe, kissing along his neck and forehead as his hand slowly started to speed up in pace. 

“Close,” Liam choked out, trying to keep his hips still, not thrusting into Zayn’s hand.

“Let go, babe,” Zayn muttered into his ear.

“Dad! I’m home!”

“Shit,” Liam cursed at the sound of Lillian’s voice echoing in the bathroom. His eyes shot open, panic evident all over his face. He looked up at Zayn whose mouth was hanging open in shock and horror. “He-hey Lil, wha-what are you doing home early?”

“Half day,” she answered nonchalantly. “Nan picked me and Nasir up, you don’t remember?”

Liam had to let out a few breaths through his nose before pushing the shower curtain a little so he could stick his head out the shower. “Nan and Nasir are here too?”

“Yeah, dad,” she responded, will a roll of her eyes. God she was so like Sophia sometimes. “Dad, why are there so many clothes lying all over the floor and why are you home already?”

“Daddy didn’t feel good so he came home,” he quickly lied, immediately feeling guilty. “I was going to do the laundry and I dropped things on the stairs, babe, that’s all.”  
Of course at the exact moment, Zayn had to sneeze. That’s also the moment Liam wished the ground could swallow him hole and take him somewhere far, far away from where he currently way. Lillian froze in her tracks and just looked at Liam, raising her eyebrow, waiting for her father to say or do anything. He didn’t want to, saying or doing anything would immediately admit his guilt. He knew Zayn was internally scolding himself and his nose for betraying him, sadly, the noise from the shower didn’t cover up his sneeze.

“Dad?”

“Lillian?”

“Are you in the shower with someone?” She asked, eyebrows still raised in curiosity. Why did he have to have such a smart, intelligent, and curious child? He was blaming Peppa Pig for that. No more educational television for his kid. “Daddy?”

“What? N-no, why would you think that?” He asked with an obvious stutter, which gave him away instantly.

Lillian smirked at Liam and walked over to the opened bathroom door. “Nan! Daddy is in the shower with someone.”

Where was that massive hole when he needed it? As he waited for his mother to inevitably walk up the stairs he quickly got himself dressed and turned off the shower, hitting Zayn in the stomach as he laughed at their misfortune. A minute later he was being laughed at by his own mother, thanks. She knew exactly what was happening, or not happening at this point. She even warmly said hello to Zayn as she escorted Lillian out the bathroom and downstairs to where Nasir was waiting for her. A few minutes later both men were sitting on the couch, towels wrapped around their waists are their children sat in front of them on the coffee table. Talk about deva vu. 

“So, Zayn,” Lillian began, sitting up straight to make herself look taller, “what are your intentions with my dad?”

“Lillian Karen Payne that is inappropriate,” Liam scolded her.

“You asked that to Nasir when you caught me looking at his thing,” she reminded him, a shake of her head as she spoke. 

Liam shook his head in disbelief, especially at his mum laughing in the back of the room, clearly enjoying the show. 

“My intentions with you father?” Zayn asked to which Lillian nodded her head. “I like your dad and I hope he likes me too. I like that he can make me laugh and smile and supports me and understands how hard it is to be a single dad to a rambunctious rugrat like you and Nasir. So my intention young Lillian, is to hopefully see where everything leads us and end up being happy where we end up.”

Lillian looked at her father and gave him a thumbs up. “I approve. Daddy, you can marry Zayn if you want. I’d like to have Nasir as my brother and boyfriend.” 

“What!” Both fathers shouted as Karen doubled over in laughter.

“Thanks dad, we’re gonna go play now,” Nasir said, hopping off the table and taking Lillian’s hand.


	23. Are You The One?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just pure fluff and fetus feels

“Everyone on the buses!” Paul’s voice boomed in the underground carpark. “Three hour drive ahead of us, plus we’re crossing the border into Canada, boys. Get comfortable and get used to it.”

After the brief instructions everyone scattered to do whatever last minute things needed to be done before they departed. Another successful show under their belts, this time in Seattle. The Take Me Home tour was winding down, just a few more weeks before a month off. Australia was waiting for all of them after their much needed break, right now they were just going to be concerned with what was ahead of them. The two buses were parked next to each other, the two buses behind those were filled with the crew, makeup, hair, and wardrobe people. Niall hopped on the second bus, saying something about catching some sleep before getting to the hotel. Louis and Harry were whispering to each other in front of the first bus, saying their goodbyes for the next few hours. Harry knew that Bus 1 was specifically for Louis and Zayn, a sacred place. A place for them to wind down the way they wanted to wind down.

“I hate when you’re away from me for hours,” Liam pouted, fixing the strap of his bag over his shoulder. “Niall sleeps all the time and Harry mopes that he’s away from Lou, like we don’t live in in each other’s pockets anyway.” 

“And what do you do, hmm, Liam?” Zayn asked, smirking as soon as he saw Liam’s cheeks pink up. “All that time on the bus, you just do something to occupy your time, right?”

“Read,” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “Or write. Anything to occupy my time when I can’t sleep.”

“So talented, you are,” Zayn praised, his voice hardly above a whisper. He loved when they were like this, inmate but in a public place. A place where they could blend in but stick out at the same time. Everyone around them was preoccupied with their own things to pay them any mind. “You’re always welcome onto my bus with Lou.”

“Yeah?” Liam asked, eyes wide and full of hope. He’d been allowed on their bus before, for short rides, from the arena to the hotel or from New York to New Jersey. Never overnight, hours long drive. Louis would never let him.

Zayn nodded, brushing the wet hair off Liam’s forehead. “You know I love being with you, Payno. It’s Lou who keeps saying no. If he says no, its no.”

Liam sighed, eyes following Zayn’s soft fingers against his forehead and as they trailed down his face, softly tickling under his chin, causing both of them to smile wide. “It’s only a few hours, we’ve done it before. We’re gonna be roomies in Vancouver though, yeah?”

“Of course,” Zayn was quick to respond, rolling his eyes, like that question even needed to be asked.   
“Buses please!” Paul shouted once more, looking directly at Liam and Zayn. “You two, busses now!”

“Okay dad,” Zayn playfully taunted their tour manager. “Whatever you say, pops.”

“Malik,” Paul calmly said, looking directly at Zayn. “Bus.”

“Go,” Liam coaxed him, gently pushing him into the direction of his bus. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Zed, promise.”

“Call me when you get bored or can’t sleep,” he told him, “or when Haz starts snoring too loud, or anything really, okay?”

“I can occupy my time without you just fine,” he laughed, “but thank you for your suggestions.”  
Zayn watched as Liam walked away, heading towards the bus. His eyes never left him as he saw Liam board the bus and wave to him out the window before what looked like Harry dragged him into the back and out of his view. He sighed as he made his way towards his bus, the music already vibrating. Louis was already in party mode. He greeted the driver before making his way towards the back room, past their bunks and all the random crap they accumulated through the weeks on the road.

“Bro!” Louis acknowledged him, arms out wide and a cigarette already in his mouth. “No. No, no, no, no, no.”

“What?” Zayn asked, confused. He was looking around, looking for anything that seemed out of ordinary, anything that seemed off somehow.

“You have that face,” Louis said, dropping his hands, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and having it in Zayn’s direction. “The I just left Liam face.”

Zayn snorted, taking the cigarette from Louis and taking a pull. “I don’t know what kind of face you’re talking about, dude.”

Louis pursed his lips together, tilting his head to the side. He didn’t really need to say anything, his body language spoke volumes for him. He shook his head before he sat down on the plush couch that lined that back wall. He patted the empty seat next to him. “Malik, I think it’s time you and I had a talk. Man to man.”

“Ok,” he let out slowly, taking one last pull of the cigarette before putting it out in one of the ashtrays that lined the windows. He hesitatingly sat next to Louis, skeptical of everything around him.

“You’re in love with Liam,” Louis said bluntly, no hesitation in his voice. Not even a slight indication that he was at all teasing Zayn. “Absolutely in love with the lad.” 

“N-no, no, no I’m not,” Zayn told him, laughing as he denied the allegation. “I love him, yeah, but I don’t love him. You know?”

“I do know,” Louis nodded. “I was in your position not that long ago, remember? I was freaking out, no realizing what I was feeling. Didn’t want to ruin the band once I realized what I was feeling for Harold was actually love.”

“That’s different,” he reminded him. “You and Harry are actually together, Liam’s with Danielle.”

Louis shifted his position on the couch, getting himself comfortable as he sat up straight and faced Zayn. “I made myself a little checklist once I realized things had changed between myself and Harry.” 

“You’re joking,” Zayn scoffed. “I’m not going to sit here for the next three or so hours and listen to you babble on about nonsense, I could’ve went on the other bus for that.”

“Liam’s bus you mean?” Louis teased him, purposely batting his eyelashes for dramatic effect. 

“And Naill and Harry’s bus,” Zayn completed for his friend, rolling his eyes as he did. “You’re ridiculous, Lou, honestly.”

“The checklist,” Louis began, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “Are you ready to answer these openly and honestly?”

“No.”

“Excellent,” Louis replied, scrolling vigorously through his phone. “Question one. Actually, close your eyes.”

“What? No!” Zayn exclaimed. “You were being ridiculous before now you’re bordering on insane.”

“Close your eyes,” he repeated sternly, using his big brother voice he often used back at home with his sisters. He scoffed as Zayn let out a sigh but eventually closed his eyes. “Good. Question one, when you think about your future do you picture Liam in it?”

Zayn’s eyelids fluttered, a clear indication that he was rolling his eyes. This was not what he had in mind when he realized he was going to be riding on Bus 1 with Louis. “Yeah. I picture Liam in my future, especially if this band is still together, meaning you Haz, and Nialler are all in my future as well you knob.”

“For fuck’s sake, Malik,” Louis huffed, throwing his free hand up in the air. “The band aside for now, think about Liam and just Liam.”

“Fine,” he gave in. “When I think about my future do I picture Liam in it? Yeah, of course. Besides you he’s my best mate.”

Louis let out a snort at the reply but decided to keep on going. “When I start and end your day, is Liam on your mind?”

“Well,” he began, letting out a breath, “if we’re being completely truthful, he is, despite the fact that I usually share a room with him too. I always tend to be thinking about him.”

“Good,” Louis acknowledged, smirking, glad Zayn couldn’t see his grin. “The next question is the most important in my opinion. Remember, things that happen within the group do not count, okay? Okay. When good things happen to you is Liam the first person you want to tell?”

The buzzing of the tires on the road and the air conditioner were the all noises filling the room. Zayn’s breath sounded a little panicky, a little labored, and the sweat on his brow was more prominent, obvious to the naked eye. Louis felt a little unnerved, concerned for Zayn. He didn’t realize that one simple questions was going to have such a physical reaction. He didn’t know whether to say something or let whatever was happening, happen.

“Bro?” Louis quietly asked.

Zayn let out a puff of hot hair. He opened his eyes and his pupils were red, bloodshot, looked like they just smoked and hot boxed themselves. “I’m in love with Liam.”

Louis’s face broke out in a wide smile, he didn’t want to get sappy and sentimental, but that shit was cute. “Yeah, you are.”

“Dude, I’m in love with Liam,” he repeated in disbelief. “Like in love with Liam.”

“I know.”

“I want to hold him, and kiss him, and fuck him, and protect him from this world, especially from you Tommo,” he realized, shaking his head as he spoke.

“Oi!” Louis yelped, faux offended. “Payno deserves a good ribbing every now and then.”

Zayn leaned up against the back of the couch, digging into his pants pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes. He took one out and immediately lit it, sucking in the nicotine quickly. “You tell anyone what I just said you’re dead, got it?”

“Secret is safe with me, Malik, promise,” he assured his best friend, snatching the cigarette from between Zayn’s lips.


	24. Puppy Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's interview at Buzzfeed and his love for Petey

"Zayn?" Liam called his fiancés name as he entered their New York apartment. He walked further into the home, checking every room he passed. It seemed empty, the bag Zayn had been carrying around with him lately was nowhere to be found. "Petey, I think we're alone, bud."

All Liam got in response was a wagging tail, good enough for him. He had fallen madly in love with the dog, they took to each other instantly. It was supposed to be a short and sweet interview for Buzzfeed in partner with the Animal League. It wasn't Liam's fault that they bombarded him with close to a half dozen puppies. They all needed to be adopted, all of them looking for a loving home. He was supposed to be answering fan questions but kept getting attacked with an overload of cuteness. Puppies were his weakness. Some people's weaknesses were alcohol, drugs, junk food, not Liam. Liam James Payne’s ultimate weakness was a puppy looking for love. Petey took to him instantly, already acting like he belonged in Liam's life. 

"Best decision ever," Liam cooed to the dog, scratching the top of the pup's head. "Watson will take to you instantly, hopefully."

Liam dropped off the bags he was carrying on the kitchen table. He had to stop at the local pet store to get everything Petey would need for the next day before he heads back to London where he had a lot more for the dog. Petey needed a new, snazzy name tag and flashy leash, food was a no brainer, of course. This puppy was gonna live in the lap of luxury, why not get him acclimated quickly. He thought maybe Petey would be their New York dog, their American dog. Watson was a handful, literally and figuratively speaking. Taking care of Watson and Loki got to be too much, on top of all their others animals in their house. Maybe keeping Petey in America wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Liam crouched down so he was eye level with the pup, making kissy faces at the dog. He was instantly in love, he couldn’t help me. “Maybe you’ll stay here with Baba while daddy goes back to England. Okay?”

Once again all Petey did in response was wag his tail and give Liam’s cheek a tentative lick. The dog had gotten accustomed to him rather quickly but it was obvious why he was so apprehensive, he was used to being cooped up in a shelter, now he had freedom to roam and do whatever he pleased, within reason of course. Liam walked about the apartment, making himself lunch, answering emails and texts, taking phone calls from people from his label, all while Petey followed closely behind him. It was cute and endearing. It made Liam feel less alone seeing that Zayn was off doing god knows what, he was always off recording or doing other secretive things. It didn’t worry Liam at all, he was just as secretive about this music as well. Besides himself Zayn was his biggest critic and the one person’s opinion he cared about the most. 

“Liam!”

Liam smiled instantly at the sound of his name leaving Zayn’s mouth. He was in the bedroom changing into a pair of comfy joggers when the front door opened. Petey was resting comfortably at his feet, his ears perked up at the new voice, eyes immediately locked on Liam. So he wasn’t an attack dog that much was obvious. Liam patted Petey’s head and told him to stay as he made his way towards the front door.

“Had a good time disappearing?” Liam greeted him with a warm smile and open arms.

Zayn shook his head in amusement as he engulfed Liam in his arms, inhaling his scent, which always smelt like home to him, no matter what. “You smell different.”

“I smell different?” Liam asked with a laugh, a bemused look on his face as they stepped out of the hug. “Maybe you’ve been out in the sun too long, love.”

“No,” he responded, inhaling Liam’s scent once more. His eyes rolled back, trying to decipher the smell plus loving the intoxicating feeling of being this close to Liam after such a long time. “You smell like Liam and something else I can’t place.”

Liam shook his head at the randomness of Zayn, taking his hand and moving him further into the apartment, pushing him onto the couch. “Relax love, take off your shoes, and enjoy our time together before I leave tomorrow.”

Zayn narrowed his eyes and he slipped off his shoes and placed them beside the couch, never taking his eyes off Liam. Something was up and definitely off about this situation. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he assured him gently, his voice a soothing tone. Liam turned his head briefly to look at the bedroom door, hoping Petey was okay and not making a mess of their room.

“Liam, are you cheating on me?” Zayn asked him directly, moving so he was face to face with Liam, could read his expression and see his face clearly.

“What!” He shrieked, half in horror and half in amusement. He just gawked at Zayn for a minute, opening his mouth to speak but words were getting stuck in his throat. “Y-you really think I’m cheating on you? That’s crazy talk!”

“Crazy talk is me coming home and my fiancé is being all secretive and smelling different. I have every right to assume what I’m assuming, Liam,” he explained, trying to not sound hysterical but coming off that way anyway. “We’re both busy, not being able to see each other all the time like we use it, things change, emotions change, I would understand.”

Liam sat back on the couch, feeling like his heart had just been ripped out of his chest and the remnants were laying on the ground by his feet. “Babe, I would never, ever cheat on you, not in a million, trillion years. No matter how difficult or tiresome the distance might be. Please, don’t ever think that. Ever.”

Zayn physically folded in on himself, feeling overwhelmed and ashamed over his outburst, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his other hand being wrapped up between Liam’s hands. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump to any conclusions or accuse you of anything, I love and trust you one hundred percent, love.”

“You want to know the truth?” Liam asked after a beat where the two of them just sat there, looking at each other and feeling their undeniable, palpable connection. 

“Liam, it’s not necessary, you don’t have to-“

“I adopted a dog,” he announced, standing up and walking towards the bedroom.

“You what!” Zayn exclaimed, his calm demeanor changing quickly as he stood up too and followed Liam. “Liam, are you out of your mind? We cannot get another dog, we are never home to take care of said dogs. Do you not remember how we had to give Loki to your sister and how your mum is taking care of Watson?”

Liam purposely ignored the questions that were being asked of him as he opened the door. Petey was right where he had left him, sitting at the foot of the bed, his raised his head at the sound of the door and panted with excitement when he spotted Liam. “Look at him Zayn, how could I’ve said no to this face.”

“Easy, no,” he replied as he walked into the bedroom. “Liam, I get that your heart has too much love in it sometimes, and that’s amazing, one of the many reasons why I love you, honestly. But we cannot have another dog. They get attached to us and then we have to either get rid of them or give them to our family. It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to the animals.”

“But Zaynie, look,” he cooed, getting on the floor to properly pet the dog. Petey immediately crawled into Liam’s lap and licked at his face, overly excited. “He is so sweet and gentle, he’ll be a perfect addition to our family.”

“Leeyum.”

Liam took one of Petey’s paws and waved at Zayn. “Hi Zayn, my name is Petey and I’m the cutest thing in this entire world. Please, please love me?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Zayn directed his comment at Liam with a pleased laugh. “You cannot hide behind this dog all day.”

“His name is Petey,” he corrected him, still waving the dog’s paw at Zayn. “He’s from the North Shore Animal League in Long Island, he needed a home and we have an abundant amount of them. Please?”

Zayn exhaled and took a seat on the bedroom floor next to Liam and Petey. “Liam, we can’t just adopt another dog and then abandon it months down the road, you get that, right?”

“I know,” he acknowledged and smiled brightly as Petey leaped off his lap and into Zayn’s nosing at his rings and sniffing him out, getting himself acclimated. “See he likes you.”

“He was in a shelter, he’ll like anyone who shows him affection,” Zayn corrected, trying to resist the urge to pet Petey’s head. He was pretty damn cute. “Babe.”

“We’ll keep him in New York with you, it’ll give me a reason to come here more often,” he tried to bargain with him, his face still in a wide smile as he watched Zayn and Petey interact.

Zayn looked up at Liam and back down at Petey, running a hand alongside the top of the puppies head, feeling how soft and warm and inviting this dog was. “So you adopted him as a ploy so you’d have a reason to come see me more, huh?”

“Is it working?” Liam asked, raised eyebrows and a warm smile on his face. He was secretly hoping this would all work out in his favor.

A slow nod of the head and a gleam in his eye was all Zayn was willing to give Liam at the moment. He couldn’t believe how easy it was to give into Liam, even after all these years. “You better come visit us often, okay?”

“I’ll fly here every week,” he promised, moving forward and giving Zayn as kiss. “My two favorite boys under one roof, doesn’t get much better than this honestly.”

“You’re such a knob,” Zayn laughed, properly petting Petey now. “It’s just gonna be us bros, Petey. Hope you get used to it.”

“Best day ever,” Liam sighed contently as he watched Zayn bond with Petey.


	25. Are You The One? Part 2

“Out of my way lads, I’ve got my own room this time,” Niall announced once everyone was off the buses in Vancouver. He turned and looked directly at Harry and Louis. “Luckily it’s away from some people.”

“You’re the perv that was listening in,” Louis replied defensively. “Not mine and Harold’s fault.”

“How about we get a move on and get to the lift instead of arguing?” Paul suggested, raising his eyebrows at the boys. “Meet me by the lifts while I get the keys.”

The five boys dragged their feet behind Paul, all exhausted. The three hour bus ride ended up taking close to four and a half due to getting tied up at the border. A stop for gas once they entered Canada ended up being a production that got a few people to laugh, even if it was out of sheer exhaustion and not something actually funny. Bags were thrown over shoulders and luggage was being dragged behind them. They only upside to everything was that they had the day off, the only thing on their schedule was a radio interview in the midafternoon. Eight more shows, two more weeks and they could see their month long break in front of them. It was just something they needed to keep reminding themselves.

“You sleep on the bus?” Zayn asked Liam as they were huddled in the corner, away from everyone.  
“A little,” Liam answered with a shrug. “I was too knackered to sleep, if that makes sense.”

“Perfect,” he assured him, especially after he saw the worry lines appear above Liam’s brows. All he wanted to do really was move his thumb across the creases, feel his skin on his skin, maybe even kiss the worry feeling that was probably in the pit of his stomach. Fuck. Stupid Louis and his stupid checklist. “I was knackered too but you know how Lou is, always bouncing off the wall.”

“You’ll sleep well tonight,” Liam promised, his worry lines now flattened and a wide smile on his face. “Get to sleep on a bed this time instead of a crammed bus.”

“We cuddling?” Zayn asked with a smirk. Despite his new found realization Zayn didn’t want to make things awkward between them, they needed to stick to their routine, and cuddling was part of that routine. “I need my teddy bear to help me sleep.”

“Of course, Zed, always,” he told him, hiking his bag further up his shoulder. 

Liam’s cheeks were faintly turning pink, a bashful smile on his face, this was when he was most beautiful. Zayn got to see Liam in varying degrees, Liam the popstar, Liam the businessman, and just good ole plan Liam James Payne from Wolverhampton. Liam was popstar was someone to be dazzled by, the way he commands a stage, the presence he has in front of thousands of fans was outstanding, surely something to be admired. Liam was businessman was a take no prisoner type of man, very attentive and aware of his surroundings. He made sure everyone was taken care of, he was the voice of reason within the band. 

Liam James Payne from Wolverhampton was who Zayn fell in love with though. That was the authentic Liam, the one many people rarely got to see. He had to be the other two Liam’s a large majority of the day. The regular Liam, the boy behind the man, the one who giggles at everything he finds funny, the one who blushes whenever he get complimented. He was so selfless and caring and understanding, always patient. Honestly, what took Zayn so long to realize he was in love with Liam? Anyone who ever met the true, authentic Liam would fall in love with him instantly. Karen and Geoff raised a good man.

“Come collect your keys and get on the lift, gents,” Paul called to them, knocking Zayn out of his daydream.

Liam gave Zayn a little shove towards the lift while he volunteered to get their keys. While the keys were being distributed the noise level started to rise a little. People were way past exhaustion but a minimal change in the atmosphere always riled people up, especially Louis. Harry, like always, was trying to quiet him, drag him onto the lift and away from the death glares of a few of the crew members. Caroline just rolled her eyes as she collected her key from Paul, patting an exhausted looking Zayn as she past, kissing his forehead and wishing him a goodnight. Liam returned, placing his free arm around Zayn’s shoulders, almost lifting him up as helping him onto the lift and eventually their shared room. They were both exhausted, the faces looking worn out from the long day and even longer tour schedule. A quick goodnight was said to those who remained on the lift as they exited on their floor. 

“I’m gonna change in the loo,” Liam announced once they got into their room and dropped their things on the soon to be vacant bed. “So you can do what you gotta do out here.”

“Thanks,” Zayn replied softly, followed by a yawn he didn’t even try to cover up.

Liam grabbed his bag that contained a change of clothes and his toiletries, it was a luxury when they stayed at a hotel. Trying to shower, shave, or even change on a constantly moving bus was a hassle. Something all five of them learned to conquer rather quickly. He hummed around his toothbrush as he brushed his teeth, some song that was playing at the arena earlier that day from whatever playlist they used to hype the crowd before the show. It felt good to be in a hotel, even better that he got to share that room with Zayn, his best mate. He loved all four boys equally but things just felt different with Zayn. They bonded over more than just being in the same group. Movies, music, comics, everything about them was alike. It was great to have someone who was so compatible with. He had the best mates in the world, a dream job, and a dream girlfriend, someone who understood his lifestyle so perfectly and never once complained. Liam was just so excited that in a few days’ time Danielle was set to arrive in Las Vegas and spend a few days with him before flying back home. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

“You decent?” Liam asked, opening the bathroom door ajar.

Zayn snorted at the questions. “What a loaded question Payno, but yea, I am.”

Liam laughed at Zayn’s reply and opened the door. Zayn was already sitting on the bed, laptop resting on his legs. “What are we watching tonight?”

“Thor,” he informed him, shuffling up on the bed to rest against the headboard, patting the spot next to him to indicate he wanted Liam to sit down. This could all be looked at as pseudo romantic but Zayn knew he needed to keep this as friendly as possible. Which was probably going to be hard, in more way than one. 

“The new one?” Liam asked in excitement as he reached the bed and sat next to Zayn. He lifted the laptop and placed it on the spot where their legs met. A perfect place for both of them to see it properly. “You know being famous does have it perks sometimes.” 

Zayn nodded swallowing the lump forming in his throat. He’d touched Liam numerous times within the last few years, hand holding, gently placing a hand on the small of each other backs, even while wrestling backstage at arenas. Even tonight they touched, always did during I Want, it was a routine of theirs. Now it felt different, their outer thighs pressed up against each other, skin on skin. He could feel the hair on Liam’s legs rubbing up against his. Zayn really did hate Louis, making him realize he was in love with Liam. Now everything happening around them made Zayn hyperaware, noticed every little detail now. Some mate Louis was. Thanks bro.

“You okay?” Liam’s gentle voice brought Zayn back to reality. He was rubbing at Zayn’s knee, trying to coax him out of whatever trance he was stuck in. “You spaced out on me for a minute.”

“I-I’m okay,” he assured him, his eyes glued to where Liam’s hand was. “Let-let’s just watch the movie, yeah?”

“I heard it was better than the first once,” Liam told him as he pressed a few buttons on the laptop to start up the movie. “Let me know if you want anything to eat or drink and I’ll pause the movie, okay?”

Zayn just nodded in response as the movie began, the Marvel credits flashing on the screen. He was so excited to watch the movie but couldn’t get his mind to focus. Everything around him was too much. He slowly regretted sharing a room with Liam. He didn’t want things to be awkward between them, to draw any attention to the situation, but it was going to be difficult. Now that he had a name to the gnawing feeling he’d been feeling for so long, it was hard to shove it away. This wasn’t Liam’s fault at all, never would be. Just sitting close to Liam in a bed where they’d eventually lay down and cuddle, a staple of theirs when they share a room. It was going to be an obstacle, he was definitely going to think about all the romantic undertones of cuddling with his best mate who he happened to be in love with.

Never mind the fact that Liam was dating Danielle. Zayn liked Danielle, mostly. She was never around so it was an out of sight out of mind type of relationship. He would never get the way of Liam’s relationship, would never jeopardize it at all. He loved Liam and a part of loving him was respecting those he chose to have in his life, and Danielle was in his life. Zayn tried to focus back on the movie but just watched Liam as he watched the movie. Seeing how animated his face got at certain scenes that were probably highly entertaining and pivotal. He loved seeing Liam’s face light up every time Loki was mentioned or on the screen. He loved the character so much he ended up naming his dog after him. It was the little things that just made him so endearing. 

“You stopped watching,” Liam observed, pausing the movie, looking at Zayn. “You want to stop? We can stop if you want to sleep or whatever.”

Zayn faked a yawn and nodded his head. “I’m knackered, maybe we can pick this up tomorrow seeing we have downtime, yeah?”

“Of course,” he agreed, turning off the movie and shutting off the computer, reaching over and placing it on the nightstand. He turned back around and saw that Zayn was already under the covers, getting himself as comfortable as possible. Liam turned off the light and turned in himself, shuffling down the bed to get properly under the covers. “Nothing beats a night in a swanky hotel with me best mate.”

“Yeah,” he tentatively agreed, slowly nodding his head, turning his back to Liam. He sucked in his breath as Liam’s arm snaked around his waist, his insides immediately felt like lava. It was strictly platonic but everything had changed, had shifted, now his body was betraying him. 

“Goodnight Zed,” Liam whispered in his ear, scooting closer to tangle their legs together. 

“Night Liam,” he replied, his mouth dry and he closed his eyes and wished himself to fall asleep and fall asleep fast.


	26. Are You The One? Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Las Vegas

Vegas was fast approaching and everyone was absolutely buzzing, especially Louis. He had called a few mates from back home to fly out and meet him. He kept saying he needed to properly party and couldn’t do it with the other boys seeing they weren’t of legal age in America. Niall tried to convince Paul to no avail, he just got a stern look and a raised eyebrow in response. It was worth a shot though. Zayn wasn’t complaining at all, for some reason Liam was glued to his side more than usual. He wasn’t going to ask why even though he figured it had something to do with Danielle’s fast approaching arrival to the States. Doing show after show along the North West and the California coast was a great distraction, kept Zayn’s mind off the fact that for at least a week he’d lose his best mate. It would be an easy transition only if Liam wasn’t everywhere Zayn was. They’d still share a room, play video games and watch movies backstage before a show. The only time they were separated was when they were on the bus. Even then Liam was texting Zayn constantly. Louis would rib him constantly, but that was something Zayn had gotten use to within the last week.

“I think he fancies you too,” Louis casually brought up as they sat on their bus outside the arena, a cigarette being passed between the two of them. Zayn turned his head and raised an eyebrow in response. “Liam, you knob. I’ve thought that for a while.”

“Liar,” Zayn responded, taking the cigarette out of Louis’s mouth. “Liam does not fancy me, we’re just mates.”

“Yeah, okay,” he laughed with a nod. “I’m not saying this to get your hopes up, Malik, honestly. Just get a vibe from Payno is all.”

“A vibe,” Zayn whispered to himself in slight amazement. He felt his lips move, repeating the word to himself again as he passed the cigarette back to Louis. “Like what kind of vibe?”

Louis shrugged his shoulder, whatever was left of the cigarette dangling from his mouth. “I don’t know bro, just a vibe. Like the same vibe I had about you liking Liam, it just something you feel.”

The show that night in Phoenix had Zayn looking at Liam curiously, seeing if he could read any signs or if Louis was just full of shit. The latter was more the usually correct. It just sat weirdly in his stomach, his heart beating a tad faster every time he got near Liam. Liam didn’t like him, no matter what kind of vibe Louis was allegedly feeling. He knew he was just trying to cheer up a somber feeling Zayn, he did appreciate it, truly. It just didn’t help all that much. Liam was with Danielle and despite anything else Zayn wasn’t going to deny him that love. On the bus heading from Phoenix to San Diego Zayn purposely ignored everyone. Went to his bunk and tried to sleep during the entire ride. He wasn’t feeling himself and obviously he didn’t want it to affect the band so it was better to sleep it off than let it fester and become a bigger problem for all of them. 

“You okay?” Liam asked.

Even though they weren’t staying overnight Paul had booked them a hotel room in San Diego so they could properly shower and try to squeeze in a short nap. Of course, like always, Liam and Zayn volunteered to share a room. Well, this time Liam volunteered them, Zayn had no say in the matter.

“Hello? Earth to Zayn?” Liam asked with a laugh, waving a hand in front of Zayn’s face, hoping to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. 

Zayn shook his head, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands. “S-sorry, just zoned out. What’s up, babe, you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he chuckled, taking a seat on the bed next to Zayn. “I’m just concerned about you is all. Since the end of the show last night you’ve been in your own little world.”

“Jus’ tired,” he replied with a shrug. Zayn didn’t want to unload everything onto Liam, it wasn’t fair for either of them. A little white lie never hurt anybody, right? “Homesick, we’re so close to going home I can taste me mum’s cooking.”

Liam inhaled sharply. “Trisha’s cooking is good, don’t tell my mum that.”

“Oh, I’m so telling your mum,” Zayn teased, smiling wide at Liam’s horrified look. “Karen is gonna be so mad at you, proper upset, crying and all that.”

“Zayn, don’t,” he pleaded, pulling gently on Zayn’s shirt sleeve. “You’re my best mate, you can’t do that to me.”

Zayn leaned back on his hands, trying not to laugh at how worked up Liam was getting over something as simple as their mums cooking. Laughing was good, it did help alleviate some of the stress that was weighing heavy in his chest. He could feel the laugh lines forming on his brow and across his mouth but he couldn’t care less about it, it felt good, felt appropriate. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice that Liam was moving forwards him, tackling him to the floor.  
“Leeyum,” Zayn wheezed, still laughing and now trying to get over the shock at Liam’s boldness. Here he was, laying on top of Zayn, trying to keep his weight off of him.

“You’re a royal pain in my arse, Malik,” Liam told him, placing all his weight on his hands, holding himself up and away from Zayn. “Think it’s funny to tease me.”

“Yea,” he replied with a smiling, tongue pressed up against the back of his teeth. “Relax, babe, it’s a joke. I’m not gonna call Karen and tell her you like me mums food better.” 

Zayn was trying to remain calm, relaxed. This is what bros do, they wrestle each other, he did it with Louis and Harry all the time, Niall jumping on his back time to time. Just today he was fighting with Paul before they all got on the buses, it was a thing to loosen the mood up, pass the time. This time getting tackled but Liam literally took his breath away. Staring up at him, really getting a good look into his eyes, how soft his features were. He could probably count the curls on Liam’s head if he wanted to, that’s how close they were. The air was thick around them, or at least that’s how it felt to Zayn. It was fuzzy too, waiting for things to move around them in slow motion. Liam place his forehead on Zayn’s and his skin was on fire, feeling the heat radiate off his skin. He was still balancing his weight on his arms, Mark would definitely be impressed by that for sure. 

Zayn licked his lips, watching as Liam’s eyes followed his movement. He audible swallowed, his mouth becoming dry, his tongue feeling foreign and heavy in his mouth. Crap. “Come on, come on then.”

“What-“

Zayn lifted his head to meet Liam and just kissed him, short and sweet, an innocent peck of lips. “Shit, sorry Liam. I-I didn’t mean to-I don’t know why-“

“Shh, it’s ok-okay,” Liam timidly assured him, his face a deep red. “I want you to.”

“Yeah?” He asked, eyebrows raised, trying to read Liam’s face for an answer. 

“Yeah,” he muttered, moving his head forward and this time initiating the kiss. 

It was more than the previous kiss, a little peck was far gone from Zayn’s mind the moment Liam’s lips touched his again. Liam re-positioned himself on top of Zayn, but not crushing him with his weight. Zayn could feel the breath getting sucked out of him by Liam’s lips and tongue. It was all messy and desperate and everything he ever could want with his first kiss with Liam. Holy shit! He was in the middle of his first kiss with Liam. He grabbed onto Liam’s hips, pushing up his shirt to feel his skin underneath his fingertips, feeling his skin burn like his own was feeling. He tried hopelessly to not buck his hips up, to feel some sort of friction, relief. Everything was so intense and confusing, it was perfect. A dingy hotel in the middle of San Diego was where he had his first kiss with Liam Payne, it was a moment he’d always remember, not matter what.

“Za-Zayn,” Liam called to him after they parted, his breath coming out harsh, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath. His cheeks were flushed a beautiful red, his lips swollen and shiny. 

“Liam?” Zayn inquired curiously, an eyebrow raised. He let his head rest on the carpeted floor as he tried to catch his own breath, a stupid goofy smile pretty evident on his face. He watched cautiously as Liam stood up and sat on the bed, running his hands through his hair. “Li?”

“We’re good Zayn,” he confirmed, not looking up from the spot he was staring at on the floor. “I just didn’t expect that is all. I wanted it, just didn’t expect it.”

Zayn took a deep breath, finally equalizing his breathing. “I’m glad it happened, babe. Not going to deny that.”

Liam finally raised his head, looking down at Zayn and copying his wide, bright smile. “Me too.”  
The show in San Diego was probably one of Zayn’s favorites thus far and that was counting the ones where his family showed up. He was riding on a high of Liam. Things had just changed between them in a blink of an eye, they were good. Yes, a lot needed to be talked about and worked out but as of now they were okay. He was going to put on an amazing show and hop on the bus with Louis and sleep or end up talking to Liam. Zayn felt invincible, nothing and no one could ruin his high. The rest of the boys kept looking at him strange, Louis even nudging him in the side once or twice to let him know he could sense some sort of shift. They weren’t being obvious, or at least Zayn didn’t think so. They still did their same routines as they always did. Face touching during I Want or sitting a little too close during More Than This. It was their thing. If the never ending, ever present smile gave him away somehow, so be it. No one could or should blame him for being happy. Liam obviously wasn’t complaining. 

Waking up to see the wonder and opulence of Las Vegas was everything Zayn always thought it would be. He literally fell out of his bunk with a painful thud, the driver clearly, purposely making a sharp turn. Oddly, it didn’t bother him one bit, he was still basking in the glory of twenty four hours prior. He could hear the honking of horns from outside the bus, the music blasting from the casinos more than likely. He could faintly hear Louis talking in the back of the bus, hearing Oli and Calvin’s name being thrown about, probably trying to figure out when their plane was set to arrive. All he could focus on was standing up, brushing his teeth and seeing Liam. Today was going to be a good day, his future was going to be bright, profession aside. He didn’t have to shun away from his feelings for Liam anymore, didn’t need to push them aside any longer. When they sorted their shit out Zayn could see himself rewarding Louis handsomely for making him see the light. The bus was finally slowing down, meaning they were at their destination, another hotel. This time it didn’t bother Zayn, he was going to spend the night in the city of sin sharing a hotel room with Liam. Nothing could go wrong. 

“Paul, the car arrive yet?” Louis asked once they were all off the buses and meeting in the underground carpark. 

Paul looked at his phone briefly and nodded. “The boys are in route to the hotel, Danielle too.”

Things immediately seemed to go foggy around Zayn. Danielle? On her way to the hotel with Oli and Calvin more than likely. How-why was that possible? Why was she coming to Vegas? Why didn’t Liam let her know that her presence was no longer needed? He looked over at Liam who looked so casual and cavalier, nodding along to Paul’s instructions that Zayn tuned out the moment Danielle’s name was brought up. Liam actually looked happy that Danielle was mere minutes from being at the hotel and seeing Liam. He needed to grab him and sort this out quickly.

“Li,” Zayn called to him after Paul released everyone with strict and firm instructions. They had an appearance at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant in about two hours. They were all scheduled to attend, pose for a few photos and head to the arena. “Wait up.”

Liam paused his walking, let everyone get on their lifts, leaving him and Zayn alone in the carpark. “I-I’m in a rush Zayn, you alright?”

“I’m alright?” Zayn mocked with a snort. He shook his head at the audacity Liam was showing. “Danielle is on her way here?”

“Yeah.”

“Danielle is on her way here!” He repeated, shouting, his voice vibrating off the walls. He scoffed and shook his head, could feel his blood begin to boil, could feel his face getting hot. He was always told his temper would get him in trouble. “Do you not see anything wrong with that, Liam? Anything at all?”

“Zayn,” he pleaded, voice low as he slowly bridged the gap between them. His hands trying to grab for Zayn’s hips, pulling helpless at his shirt. “Come on, y-you know me, you’d know I’d never hurt you, yeah?”

Zayn sighed, pulling his shirt out of Liam’s grasp. “I-I can’t Liam, not until she’s gone. I deserve better, she deserves better!”

“Zayn,” he repeated, walking closer to Zayn who kept walking backwards, trying to put space between them. Zayn moved behind Liam, giving him more room to move away. Liam just stood up against the pillar, waiting. “Zed, come on. Don’t do this, okay? Everything will work out between us. You jus-just gotta give it time, okay?”

“I’ve been waiting,” he groaned, shoulders hunched forward, defeated. “Longer than you’d ever know, Li.”

“I know,” Liam said softly, trying to pacify the situation.

“No you don’t!” He shouted, finally finding his confidence and nerve again, standing up straight once more.

“Payno!” Louis voice shouted from the lift, neither boys in the carpark even hearing it ping. “Your girl is here and she’s looking for you.

Liam looked at Zayn whose face was sullen, desperate. He nodded his head at Louis. “Thanks Tommo, I’ll be right up, tell her that, okay?”

“Okay,” he replied slowly, feeling the tension and not wanting to be any part of it, for now. 

“Zayn, we’ll talk about this later,” Liam tried to compromise, he was looking at Zayn but it was clear his mind was somewhere else, on someone else.

“When?” He hummed. “We’re busy all day and SHE’S here! Did you forget that, Liam? Your GIRLFRIEND is here. Kinda puts a damper on things, hmm?”

“Zayn.”

“Stop!” He yelled, growling and fuming with aggravation. He raised his hand and punched the wall beside Liam’s head. He immediately regretted that decision as he felt the pain shoot up his hand and arm. “Fuck.”

“Shit,” Liam cursed in panic. “Le-let me phone Paul and a-a doctor or somethin’, okay?"

“Go,” Zayn ordered, gritting his teeth to fight and hide the pain. “Danielle’s waiting and you’ve done enough damage already.”

“Zayn-“

“Go Liam! Just leave me alone,” he requested softly. “Just go be with your girlfriend.”

Zayn saw red as Liam quietly got on the lift and made his way up towards the lobby and eventually Danielle. Red was the color his hand was turning and also the color of the blood pouring out of his knuckles. Okay, so maybe punching a concrete wall wasn’t the smartest thing he ever did but the emotion and everything running through him got the better of him. It happens, he knows he’s not perfect. He just didn’t know what to do. Logically Paul was who he was supposed to call but he really wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. Louis would be his next chose but seeing Danielle is here that meant Oli and Calvin had arrived too. He couldn’t go up to the lobby or his room because he could run into a fan or reported. Fuck. This shit just kept getting worse and worse. Smooth move Malik, way to use your brain. 

“Oi! Oi!”

Zayn exhaled at the sound of Louis voice, he didn’t want to bother him but he could really use a nonjudgmental person to be around him right now. “Fuck Lou, thank god.”

“Payno told me you were hurt,” he explained, walking as fast as he could to where Zayn was leaning up against the pillar he hit. “What you do?”

“Punched the wall,” he laughed, more from embarrassment than anything else. “It was better than hitting Liam.”

Louis paused his steps mere inches from Zayn. He cocked his head to the side slightly and raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

Zayn slid down the pillar, his hurt hand pressed up against his chest, blood still dripping down from his knuckles and onto the concrete floor. “He kissed me and he said he meant it.”

“Just now?” Louis asked, scanning the carpark, confused.

“Yesterday,” he answered. “And then I wake up in Vegas and Danielle is on her way here to the hotel. How am I not supposed to react to that Lou? Things were happening, good things and now nothin’.”  
Louis made a defeatist noise as he tried to hoist Zayn up. “We gotta get that checked, mate. That looks gross. So, let me get this straight. Payno kissed you, told you he wanted to be with you, and now ditched you for some bird?”

Zayn hoisted himself up with his good hand and with Louis’s help. They made their way towards the lift where they rode in silence, Zayn’s head leaning on Louis’s shoulder for comfort and support. He knew exactly where Louis was taking him and at his point he was so drained physically and emotionally he didn’t care. He oddly welcomed the speech and ribbing he was going to get from Paul, it was kind of comforting. Louis just led Zayn to Paul’s room, knocking on the door as the both sighed when they heard the door being unlocked. No one wanted to endure the wrath of Paul, it was never pretty and it was never fun.

“Jesus Malik,” Paul cursed when he opened the door, eyes immediately drawn to Zayn’s hand. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Louis. “You have something to do with this Tommo?”

Louis raised his hands in surrender, shooting Zayn a sympathetic look as an apology. “I got me mates here Paul, this is all on Zayner.”

“You’ve done enough Tommo,” Paul told him, placing a steady hand on Zayn’s shoulder. “Malik and I need to talk and get this-this thing checked out. Go be with your mates, remember we’re meeting Ramsey at half two.”

“Aye, aye captain,” Louis saluted as he walked backwards towards the lifts. “Be easy on our boy Paul, he’s a fragile one there.”

Paul shook his head as he guided Zayn into his room. The lecture shockingly wasn’t as horrible as Zayn anticipated. There was yelling, of course, but there was also some fatherly advice. Paul wasn’t blind, he wasn’t oblivious to everything around him, even though sometimes he wished he was. He called the hotel medic, because all Las Vegas hotels had one of those apparently, to check Zayn out. Luckily the medic didn’t seem too phased over who they were attending to and why. Fortunately for Paul who’s quick on his feet, they came up with an excuse as to how he got injured. Something happened to him at the gym, yeah right, because Zayn Malik totally went to the gym and was a workout fiend like Liam and Niall. It was the easiest and fastest way to explain everything away. His hand wasn’t broken, just bruised. The medic wrapped it up and iced it, giving him a painkiller to ease everything. 

“You’re banned from meeting Ramsey,” Paul told him sharply as soon as the medic was excused. “You go to the show and come right back to the room tonight. No fun allowed for you.”

Zayn sighed, getting punished by Paul felt a lot like being grounded by his mum and dad. “Fine. Don’t feel like celebrating anyway.”

“Suck it up Malik,” he said, lifting him up by the arm. “I may not know much, but I see everything. Trust me when I say it’ll all work out in the end.”

“Okay,” Zayn replied slowly, unsure over Paul’s ominous tone. “So what do I do now seeing that lads are meeting Ramsey soon?”

“Go for a kip until that tablet wears off,” he suggested, opening his hotel door and giving Zayn a brief shove out the door. “Whatever you do Malik, for god’s sake, don’t cause any more harm to yourself or anyone else, yeah?”

The lie down Paul suggested actually did wonders for Zayn. The pain tablet helped as well but getting some uninterrupted sleep was exactly what he needed. No, he didn’t forget why he was banished to his room and not out getting a free meal cooked by a world known chef, but for a small moment he felt okay again. He got up and showered, knowing he had to be at the area for sound check at four. He rang Paul who arranged for a car and a bodyguard to pick him up. He arrived at the arena and the first person he saw was Liam with his arm around Danielle. The bile in his stomach was quickly rising to his throat. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to handle this, deal with it all weekend. A quick glance at his bandaged hand was a jarring reminder that he needed to keep himself in check. He couldn’t do anything else reckless and stupid.

“Oi!” Louis greeted him warmly, running up the ramp to meet Zayn and throw an arm around his shoulder. “How you feeling bro?”

Zayn took a deep, calming breath as they continued to walk down the ramp towards the other boys, towards Danielle. “Pain tablets do wonders. How was Ramsey?”

“You should’ve been there Zayn, it was awesome,” Niall explained enthusiastically. That was the greatest thing about Niall, it was clear he felt the tension, he was always the first person to want to elevate it by cracking a joke or just being himself. “We made Harry try squid and he almost got sick everywhere. Classic.”

“An absolute craic,” Harry mocked in his best Niall impersonation. 

Laughing with the boys eased some of the tension, for the time being at least. Danielle scurried off once sound check began. Zayn watched like a hawk as she gave Liam a kiss before leaving, churning his stomach at the sight. He avoided Liam like the plague though, would not give him the satisfaction of speaking to him. He went with the motions of sound check, staying near Louis and Harry, but trying not to be obvious. Thankfully Harry and Niall didn’t ask many questions about his hand, both of them probably being filled in on the gossip by Louis. It was only natural for them to be curious, Zayn completely understood that. Zayn just wondered how much of the truth they really did know. Did they know how Liam was a bold face liar who cheated on his girlfriend and then still had her fly over nine hours to see him? These littles things were eating him up inside when he knew they shouldn’t be, when he knew he had other things to worry about, like that nights show. 

“It’ll be okay.” Harry gave him a reassuring squeeze as they stood backstage waiting to do their preshow ritual. “It’ll all be okay.”

The show passed by in a blur. Things and people just flew by without leaving a lasting imprint like most shows did. Everything just felt off, not how it should be. He avoided Liam as best as possible, purposely turning his face during I Want, not looking him in the eye at times where they normally sang to each other. It was Zayn’s version of teaching Liam a lesson, sort of. He wasn’t totally oblivious to everything around him, he saw the subtle looks Harry and Louis were exchanging during the show, whispering in Niall’s ear to fill in him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize they were plotting something, especially when all three musketeers were whispering during More Than This. Zayn could feel Liam being pushed closer to him, could feel his eyes on the back of his head. He wasn’t stupid, knew that Liam was going to grovel. He wasn’t going to give in that easy. A pouty lip and batting of eyelashes weren’t going to solve this. 

“Zayn.”

Zayn shot up in the bed, checking the clock on the nightstand as it read quarter passed three in the morning. He shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He hardly even remembers how he got into bed, all the boys went out to celebrate as Zayn went back to his room per Paul’s earlier rules.

“Zayn, open up.”

Liam’s voice seemed quiet and pleading coming from the other side of the door. He didn’t sound drunk, it wasn’t something Liam did anyway. Zayn reluctantly got up from his nice comfortable bed to answer the door. “What?”

“Ca-can I come in?” Liam asked, his eyes trained to the ground, staring at his feet. “We need to talk.”

Zayn opened his door a little bit further to let Liam in, closing it as softly as possible behind him. He stood in front of Liam who sat as the foot of the unoccupied bed. The bed Liam would’ve stayed in if he didn’t up and ruin everything. Zayn crossed his arms over his bare chest, trying to look menacing. “Speak.”

“Danielle’s gone,” he announced. The words automatically echoing in the near empty room.

“Lost?” He asked with a smirk. “Disappeared? Vegas is a big place after all.”

“On her way back to England,” Liam clarified, his smirk matching Zayn’s. 

“Emergency?” Zayn wondered, trying to keep his face as straight as he could.

“Zayn,” Liam whispered.

The room was dark except for the silver of moonlight seeping in through the blinds. Zayn’s insides felt like they were on fire, like someone was squeezing all the emotion out of his heart as Liam was whispering his name. He knew what Liam meant when he said Danielle was gone. He hand sent her home after flying half way across the world to see him. Liam was clearly making a statement but not saying many words at all.

“For good?” Zayn asked, his eye fixed on Liam’s face, ready to read any and all emotion.

“For good,” he confirmed with a sharp nod. “Zed, look, I’m sorry for everything. I didn’t want to mislead you at all. That was never my intention. Things were sloppy and I mishandled it, clearly.”

“I blew things out of proportion,” he confessed, stepping closer to where Liam sat. “I could’ve handled thing better, been an adult about it. Let you deal with things with her first before accusing you.”

“Forgive me?” Liam begged, his eyes wide, a small pout on his lips.

Zayn nodded his head and kneeled in front of Liam. “I could never be mad at you for too long, Leeyum. I’m sorry.”

Liam took a deep breath as he stared down at Zayn’s soft, sleepy face. He looked so pure and angelic, peaceful. His smile was back in his eyes, a day without seeing the light in Zayn’s eyes was far too long for Liam. He rested his forehead against Zayn’s and smiled wide, happy. Things were still complicated, not everything was going to be easy from here on out but Liam knew he was ready to take it on head on and he knew Zayn felt the same way. For the foreseeable future it was going to be them against the world.


	27. Leaving

“Okay, I’m off.”

Zayn looked down as Liam rolled his suitcase to the front door. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Liam asked, a little taken aback. “I’m leaving, on a plane, to America, for a month.”

“I know,” he nodded, looking up at Liam. “Have fun. Have a safe flight.”

“That’s it!” Liam exclaimed, shocked at the own tone of his voice. “I’m leaving Zayn. Like leaving, leaving. This is the goodbye I get?”

Zayn sighed as he stood up from the sofa, taking larger steps to reach Liam quicker. “I know. I don’t want to make a big production out of it. I want it to be quick and easy, like a bandaid.”

Liam rested his forehead against Zayn’s and sighed. “I don’t want to go.”

“You have to,” he whispered. “You have to keep smashing it babe, show the world the star you are.”

“Come with me,” he suggested. “Be my personal assistant.”

Zayn laughed, his shoulders shaking. “I wish. I’ve got my own shit to do here, be my own superstar and whatnot.”

“You’ll take care of yourself,” Liam said, more as an order than a question. He knew how Zayn got when he was left alone with his thoughts and emotions and nothing else. “Feed the animals. Go see your mum, see my mum. Pat Ruth’s belly for me as she keeps growing.”

“She’s having a boy,” Zayn beamed. “We need more men in this family.”

“We do,” Liam agreed. His phone that was in his pockets rang loudly. “Paddy’s here.”

“Make him wait,” he told him, pushing out his bottom lip in a pout. “A private plane can’t leave without its main passenger.”

“True,” he nodded, bringing up his right hand and running his thumb along Zayn’s pushed out bottom lip. “Love you.” 

Zayn playfully bit at Liam’s finger, making him hiss. “Love you too.”

“I don’t want to go,” he confessed, his phone going off again. “Will this man leave me be?”

“You love Paddy,” Zayn reminded him. “I love Paddy. He keeps you safe when I’m not around.”

“He’s a pain in me arse.”

Zayn laughed as seconds later his phone started to ring. “Gotta admit the man is persistent.”

“I’m going,” Liam finally gave in. “I’ll call you when I land and when I check in and when I have any free time.”

“Go,” him encouraged him. “Me and the kids will be okay without daddy for a while. Promise.”

Liam nodded, a little uncertain. “Call me anytime you need me, okay?”

“I can’t take care of myself,” he reminded Liam. Zayn moves forward and kissed Liam gently on the lips. “Go babe, before Paddy barges in here and drags you away.”

Liam nodded his head once more and kissed Zayn again. “Love of my life.”

“Jaan.”

“Love you,” he repeated, kissing him for a final time before walking backwards towards the front door. He grabbed his suitcase and walked out the door. 

Zayn watched as Liam walked away, sighing. It hurt to see him leave, they lived in each other’s pocket for close to seven years, never being far from each other. Liam had to work and promote and be amazing, but it hurt. It hurt to see him go for a long amount of time while he had to stay put and work himself. Winston came into the room, his claws making noise on the hardwood floor. Winston sat beside Zayn and let out a sigh himself. “I know bud. I miss dad already too. He’ll be back, he promised and we both know Liam’s the most reliable person out there.”


	28. Puppy Love Part 2

“Are you awake?” Liam whispered into his phone, Paddy asleep next to him as they were being driven from Philadelphia to New York.

“Nope, sleeping,” Zayn laughed as he lounged on their sofa The Daily Show on the television. “Knocked out, dead to the world asleep.”

“Babe,” he huffed. “You knew what I meant.”

“I know,” Zayn laughed. “You in New York yet?”

Liam looked out the tinted window trying to gauge his whereabouts. “Looks like New Jersey, a lot of garbage and shipping containers.”

“Sounds a lot like New Jersey,” he agreed. “You’re coming home.”

“I’m coming home,” Liam repeated, a large face splitting grin on his face. “Only for two days and I have to work for one of them, but nevertheless, I’m coming home.”

Zayn tried to stifle a yawn with the back of his hand but it was useless. “I don’t think I can stay up any longer, love.”

“Go to sleep,” he coaxed him softly, looking over at a snoring Paddy. “I see the city lights up ahead of us. Go to bed and keep it warm for me.”

“Wake me up when you get in. I don’t want to miss a second of you here,” he told him in a slow sleepy voice.

“Okay babe,” Liam agreed. “Soon my love. I’ll be home soon.”

After the hung up the phone Liam leaned up against the leather car seat and sighed. He was so excited to be home, well, New York, but to him home was wherever Zayn was. For a short period of time things were going to feel normal. He’d get to sleep in his own bed, wake up next to the person he hadn’t slept next to in what felt like forever. Professionally life was going amazingly, Liam couldn’t ask for anything more to be quite honest. He just missed Zayn, who was busy himself. Gearing up for the release of his sophomore album and laying low until he was ready. That was a privilege they all had now, doing things when they were ready. Instead of rushing to record and release an album every November, just in time for the holiday rush. Release songs you were proud of but knew wouldn’t make your album. Let people know you were still invested in them and your musical progression.

The driver pulled up to their apartment and Liam had to lightly shake Paddy awake. Poor sod looked exhausted but was relieved to be able to sleep in a proper bed. Zayn and Liam purposely bought the apartment they owned because the guest bedroom was far enough away that Paddy felt like he had his own space but he was close enough whenever they needed each other. Paddy grabbed both their bags as they headed towards the lift, after a warm greeting from the doorman, Greg. Liam felt the butterflies starting to develop in his stomach in anticipation, excitement. He tried to tip toe his way inside the home. Saying goodbye to Paddy as the bodyguard made his way towards his side of the apartment. Liam took off his shoes and crept his way towards the bedroom. The bedroom door was open ajar and he could see Zayn snuggled under the blankets, Petey at his side.

“H-hey,” Zayn greeted him groggily, the light from the living area illuminating the bedroom. “You’re home.”

Liam nodded his head and bridged the gap between the two of them. “I’m home love. Petey keeping you safe?”

On cue Petey woke up and peaked over at Liam at mention of his name. He wagged his tail in excitement, trying to climb over Zayn to get to Liam.

“Hey buddy,” Liam greeted him, scratching behind the dog’s ear. “Keeping dad safe and warm? Good pup. I got you a surprise.”

“Me or the dog?” Zayn asked, frowning a little, looking and feeling a little left out of Liam and Petey’s emotional reunion.

“Both,” he guessed with a shrug. “I’ll be back.”

As Liam left the room Zayn reconfigured himself so he was now sitting up, resting against the headboard as Petey moved around and rested his head on Zayn’s lap. The moment Zayn heard the tapping of nails on the hardwood floor he knew he was in trouble.

“Surprise!” Liam exclaimed jovially. He walked in and seconds later another dog walked behind him. Petey’s head shot up instantly, a small growl escaping the dog. “Easy boy. He’s not here to hurt you or replace you. Shadow is your friend.”

“Another dog, Liam?” Zayn sighed. “Really?!?”

“Petey was lonely,” he explained. “And Shadow needed a home.”

Zayn sighed once more and patted the open spot next to him on the bed. “Come here.”

Liam quickly disrobed, finally getting himself comfortable. He’d been in the same clothes all day, it was about time he got himself comfortable. He followed Zayn’s instructions and sat next to him. “Missed you so much.”

Zayn gladly accepted Liam’s kiss, maybe purposely making it a little longer than necessary. “Missed you too, but another dog?”

“He needed a home!” Liam insisted with a pout. “He was in a shelter in Philadelphia and they were gonna put him down if no one adopted him.”

“So you had to save him,” he guessed, running his thumb over Liam’s bottom lip. “Sometimes I feel like you have too much love in your heart for his world to handle.”

“Zayn-“

“I’m not saying no to Shadow,” he continued as the dog in question hopped on the bed and snuggled next to Liam on what little sliver of bed was available. He kept a watchful eye on Petey who sighed and rested his head back on Zayn’s lap. “Our family is big and beautiful and I wouldn’t change it, but you’ve gotta consult me first before you bring a new dog into the home.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted both of these dog and Loki and Watson to share in our love and add to it. And when it’s our time to have actual children they’ll be surrounded by all this love.”

Zayn caressed Liam’s cheek and shook his head in fondness. “Thank you for being the best man in this world. You turn lemons into lemonade all the time. I love you and your optimism Liam.”

Liam blushed at the compliment and kissed Zayn’s palm. “Thank you for letting me be optimistic in this cruel world. You give me hope. Love you.”

“This family is a mess,” Zayn laughed as both Petey and Shadow were asleep on top of them and snoring loudly. “Oh, they definitely take after you with the snoring.”

“Do not!” Liam gasped in mock horror. “Budge over babe, I’m knackered.”


	29. Snow Angels

“It’s cold,” Liam shivered as the cold air whipped around him. 

“You big wuss,” Zayn laughed, his eyes shining in the sliver of sun that was out. 

“Let’s go to Utah they said. The snow is beautiful this time of year they said,” Liam rolled his eyes, repeating the words Zayn had used to convince him to make the trip a few weeks prior. “You can ski and snowboard they said, be adventurous.”

Zayn rolled his eyes at the horrible attempt at his accent. Close to ten years together and Liam’s impersonation of him always seemed to get worse. “You finished?”

Liam stopped for a beat, looked around at the heaps of snow around them. He nodded his head shortly after. “Yep, I’m good.”

“Good, now help your kids into the sleigh,” Zayn told him, batting his eyelashes. “Nasir looks like he’s gonna fall asleep on his feet in boredom.”

“Amira looks like she’s gonna push him into the snow,” Liam observed. 

The pair watched cautiously as their four year old twins played in the snow. It was their first Christmas holiday away from family and England. The kids had experienced snow before but inches that would melt before they even got their boots on. Zayn wanted to take them away for the week, let them experience what snow was really about. Make snow angels, have a snowball fight. Everything he had dreamt about as a kid back in Bradford. It took some convincing on his part to get Liam onboard, he was a bit apprehensive. Zayn has told him that they’d have one day of their week in Utah allotted to snowboarding and skiing while the kids napped. He knew he had to appeal to Liam’s daredevil side to finally get the yes out of him. 

“Who’s ready to make a snowman?” Zayn as the twins excitingly, crouching down to be at eye level with the kids. “Dad’s got the carrot and scarf we need to make it complete.”

“It’s cold,” Nasir complained with a whine. 

“I want to make the biggest snowman ever,” Amira shouted in excitement. “We can take a picture and show nan and pap.”

“It’s cold,” Nasir repeated himself a little louder. 

Liam looked down at Zayn who just shrugged his shoulders. It was a common occurrence for them by now, one twin wanting to do one thing while the other was completely opposed to the idea. “Hey, why don’t I take Nas inside while you and Amira build your snowman.”

“You want to do that, bug?” Zayn asked his son. “Go inside with dad while Amira and I play in the snow?”

Nasir nodded his head enthusiastically. He grabbed onto Liam’s outstretched hand in a blink of an eye. “Let’s go.”

Liam smiled over at Zayn as they shared confused looks. “Call me if you need me. I love you. Amira, pay attention and be a good girl for baba, okay?”

“Okay bye dad,” she shrugged off instructions and delved into the fluffy white snow at her feet. 

Zayn was having the time of his life making a snowman with his little girl, Nasir and Liam not far from his mind though. When he and Liam decided to have children they were hoping to have twins, they wanted a small family and they got blessed with a son and a daughter. Their surrogate was absolutely amazing, never once phased by the idea that two internationally known celebrities wanted her to carry their children. She’d become a part of their family since the birth of the twins. Celebrating birthdays and holidays with them, along with her own children. Hearing his daughter squeal in delight over the feel and taste of snow made everything that bothered him seem so small. 

Liam and text him letting him know that he and Nasir were drinking hot cocoa and watching cartoons, nice and warm inside their rented home. Nasir was so like Zayn it was unbelievable. He was so cautious and apprehensive. He usually had to be coaxed to do something, reassured that everything would be okay. It was Zayn, or at least that’s what his mum and dad told him. He always believed he was more adventurous but after hearing stories from his family, he knew the opposite was true. Amira was Liam’s child through and through. She was fearless and tough, a real go getter. Nothing was going to stop her, especially her brother. Even at four she was ready to tackle anything. She loved rollercoasters, the faster the better, something she definitely got from Liam. 

“Love bug, you want to go inside and warm up by the fire with dad and Nas?” Zayn asked, a shiver going down his spine. He didn’t mind being outside especially when it involved his child’s happiness, but he was getting cold. 

“No.”

“Amira,” he said sternly, using his dad voice as Doniya called it. “It’s getting cold love.”

“Baba,” she whined, smearing the snow on her face. 

“The snow isn’t going anywhere,” he assured her. “We can come back later and tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.”

Amira dropped the snow in her hands and sighed. “You promise?”

“I promise,” he replied, kissing her cold, wet nose. “Dad’s got hot cocoa and cartoons inside.”

With a defeated sigh, Amira grabbed Zayn’s hand and went back into their rented home. They disrobed of their boots, jackets, hats, gloves, and scarfs before making their way further into the home. Nestled comfortably by the fire was Liam with Nasir’s head resting on his lap, his iPod turned off and a light snore coming from him. Zayn sat next to Liam, Amira copying her brother and resting her head on Zayn’s lap, ready for her nap after the day’s excitement. 

“She was good?” Liam asked in a whisper. 

“Her fathers daughter,” he laughed. “Didn’t want to come in at first. Ate more snow then she’ll admit.”

“It’s just cold water,” he waved his husband off. “We’re doing good?”

Zayn looked over at Liam and smiled wide. He shifted his focus to his two little kids who were both now sleeping, mouths open and snoring. At time he felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest with how much love he felt inside him. He had his dream man, dream life, and the most amazing kids anyone could ask for. “We’re doing perfect, jaan.”

Liam leaned over a kissed Zayn softly. “Thank you for making me happy and letting me live out my dreams with you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Zayn told him, stealing another soft kiss from Liam. “Absolutely mutual.”


	30. Thanks A Latte

“I just want to grab a coffee before we head to the movies,” Liam quickly mentioned to Zayn. “It’ll be quick, they know my order.”

Zayn sighed at the momentary pause. They already had tickets to the movie they were seeing but Zayn wanted a good seat. “Let’s hurry it up Payne.”

Liam just laughed at Zayn’s impatience as he opened the front door at the Starbucks he visited frequently. “I need a lot of caffeine to keep you with you, babe.”

“Sounds kinky,” Zayn joked, wiggling his eyebrows as they walked towards the counter. 

“Want anything?” Liam asked. Zayn replied with a shake of his head. “Hey, Jason.”

“Liam,” the barista greeted him, a big smile on his face. “It’s the weekend, what are you doing here?”

“Going to see Black Panther next door,” he replied, returning the smile just as wide and toothy. “I’m so excited but need my java kick to stay awake. Pulled an all nighter last night and I’m exhausted.”

“Your usual?” Jason asked. 

“Yeah, make it a venti please,” Liam said. “Maybe a splash of vanilla too.”

“Venti americano with a pump of vanilla,” Jason rattled off, pressing buttons on his screen. “It’s on the house today.”

“No,” he argued. “I-I can’t, Jason.”

“Already done. Put in my employee code so don’t worry,” he assured him. 

Zayn audible sighed behind the duo. He was clearly being ignored as Jason desperately tried to flirt with Liam who was obviously to the entire thing. 

“So, Black Panther, huh?” Jason asked. “I heard it’s amazing. Hopefully I can see it on my day off on-“

“Wednesday,” Liam finished for him, blushing. “You’re off every Wednesday. Coffee isn’t as good that day.”

Jason returned the blush as he tried to occupy his hands with the cakes and gift cards that sat in front of his register. “You can’t spoil it for me when I see you Monday, okay?”

“Never,” he promised. “I’ll tell you how good Michael B. Jordan looks though, even though it’s obvious from the trailers alone.”

“He’s beautiful,” Jason agreed. “It’s about time he got a Marvel movie that’ll do well and actually be good.”

Zayn snorted behind the duo, still being ignored but oddly enjoying the horrible flirting tactics between his boyfriend and the clueless barista. 

“Venti americano for Liam!” Another barista called. 

Liam accepted his drink with a smile and a thanks. “I-I gotta get going to the movies. I’ll see you Monday, yeah?”

“Bright and early at eight,” Jason giggled, his cheeks still pink with a blush. “Enjoy the movie.”

“Thanks,” he replied, casting a smile to the cashier before leaving the coffee shop, a bemused Zayn in tow. 

“Unbelievable,” Zayn finally said once they were outside. 

Liam took a sip of his coffee, eyes wide at Zayn’s shaking head. “What?”

“Flirting with another man in front of me, Li,” Zayn scoffed, still shaking his head. 

“Ja-Jason,” he gasped. “Babe, he’s my barista. And I was hardly flirting, being friendly is all.”

“I didn’t say it was good flirting but you flirted,” he laughed, interlocking his fingers with Liam as they walked towards the theater. “Poor helpless kid doesn’t even know you’re taken.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you,” Liam said, squeezing Zayn’s hand a little tighter to show his apology. 

“I’m not offended,” he scoffed, smiling at Liam’s sullen face. “Babe, I’m okay. We’re okay. Flirt with anyone you want, just remember I’m yours and you’re mine. Forever and always.”

“Forever and always,” Liam nodded in agreement. “Jason’s harmless though, not even my type.”

“You have a type?” Zayn asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“Tall, dark, and handsome.”

Zayn puffed out his chest in confidence. Not to brag but Liam just described him perfectly. 

“Like Michael B. Jordan.”

“You little-“ Zayn gasped, pulling Liam towards him. “You’re lucky I love you Payne.”

“I am lucky,” he agreed, kissing Zayn briefly. “Love you too.”


	31. Tattoo Talk

“Your skin,” Liam whispered, leaving soft presses of his lips along Zayn’s jaw. “Is beautiful.”

Zayn bucked his hips forward as Liam sucked at his neck. “It’s a dedication to you, to us.”

“Us,” he moaned, sucking on Zayn’s collarbone. “All this ink in black and white. All for us.”

Liam traced his lips along Zayn’s tattoos, giving special attention to the newest one, a red wolf right where everyone can see. His left hand held Zayn’s hip tightly so he wouldn’t squirm off the bed. He thumb faintly tracing the gun tattoo poking out of his pants. Zayn tried to lie still, physically and emotionally overwhelmed by the attention Liam was giving him. Feeling the love Liam felt for him. Wanting to move things forward but reeling in the overwhelming feelings of security. 

“My initials,” Liam sighed, tracing the letters with his lips. “Hidden in the name of your first album. The one thing you worked on so hard for.”

“Worked hard for you too,” he sighed, his breathing labored, dream like. “I’d still wait for you Li.”

Liam’s eyes wide in awe at Zayn’s words. “So much love I have for you.”

“The mandala,” Zayn suggested, shaking his hand to get Liam’s attention. “My ultimate commitment to you. Had to stop wearing my ring but it won’t stop me for permanently marking my body with you.”

Liam kissed along Zayn’s knuckles, smiling every time he heard Zayn’s breath hitch or if he let out a sigh. “I need to get more tattoos for you. Show the world how much you’re life has changed mine.”

“We’re the quiet ones,” Zayn laughed. “Fill in the banners, babe.”

“I will,” he huffed. “We need to get married so I can properly add our dates.”

Zayn pulled Liam up by his collar, bringing him into a passionate kiss, leaving them both a little breathless. “So sentimental. So romantic.”

“Just for you, love,” Liam told him.


	32. Last First Kiss

"You’re a twat,” Zayn spat out as he walked back and forth between his closet and bed, throwing shirts and pants on the comforter with each paced step.   
“You’re a nag,” Louis rebutted, lounging on said bed, dodging Zayn’s halfhearted attempts at throwing clothes at him. “Bro, you’ve gotta relax.”

“Relax,” he huffed with a laugh, still pacing back and forth, sometimes glancing in the mirror, shrugging his shoulders and continued pacing. “You set me up on a blind date with someone who just moved into Nialler’s building and I’m supposed to relax.”

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, understanding that Zayn literally just spelled everything out for him. “You’ve become unbearable Malik, you need to get laid and quickly.”

“Find me a hooker then Lou, not a date,” Zayn spat out in annoyance.

Louis stood up, pushing all the clothes that ended up piled on him onto the floor. He carefully watched as Zayn paced and firmly grabbed him by the shoulders. “Dude, it’s a date, not a marriage proposal. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been on one of those but I know you’re still capable of holding a conversation with a fit lad for an hour or so.”

Zayn narrowed his eyes at Louis, ready to spit some sarcastic comment out at him but couldn’t. His face softened at his best friend with his wide grin and blue eyes. Eyes and a face that’s never let him down in all the years they’ve been mates. “I’m nervous.”

“Yeah,” he nodded again, this time full of sympathy and compassion. “If you’re nervous think about how nervous Liam must be right now. He just moved into a new building and here comes a hyperactive bottled blonde name Niall introducing himself and asking if he’s gay cause he has a friend he wants to set him up with.”

“Poor bloke didn’t see it coming,” he laughed, his shoulders loosening and the tension slowly dissipating. “Did the same thing with Harry for you.”

“He’s a matchmaker,” Louis confirmed with a fond smirk at the thought of his boyfriend, “but his ways aren’t always conventional.”

Zayn, with Louis’s help, was finally able to stop is worrying and choose an outfit. He knew it wasn’t going to be a fancy place where he was meeting Liam, just a local diner that Niall suggested seeing its location was equidistant to both their flats. He was told he had to wear his leather jacket, the one with the red patches on the elbows, everything else was up to him to decide. A simple black shirt, tight around his shoulders, his best asset, or so Louis said and black jeans paired with black boots. It was simple but an effective look, fashion wasn’t his strong suit, he worked at home in his joggers, he didn’t need to dress up every day.

He walked into the diner at half passed six, a bell dinging above the door as he opened it, it was cute, it was cliché, and it was homey. He’d come there a few times when he needed to get out of the flat, a deadline looming over his head but no inspiration whatsoever. He was supposed to meet Liam at six thirty and even though he was known for being tardy, Zayn made sure he arrived first so he didn’t awkwardly stand around trying to fish Liam out of the crowd. He greeted the server/waitress/hostess/and whatever other job the poor uni student had just to scrape by as she sat him at a booth towards the front and by a window. Zayn just stared out the window, playing unconsciously with the frayed plastic on the menu that was placed in front of him. He was just trying to distract his mind and clam his nerves. 

“Zayn?”

Zayn shook his head as he ripped his attention away from the carpark outside his window to the person who owned the voice calling his name. “Vas happening?”

“I’m Liam,” he introduced himself, a confident but shy smile on his face as he sat across from Zayn.

“Oh he-hey,” he stuttered over his words. He felt like such an ass, great first impression. Liam was beautiful, brown eyes that shined, even in the dimly lit booth, a beard that looked thick and beautiful and Zayn could already feel himself drooling, great.

“It’s so good to meet you,” Liam said, shrugging off his own leather jacket. “Niall’s been talking you up so much I thought you may have been a mystery or a figment of his imagination.”

“Me?” Zayn laughed. “Nialler swore you were Prince Charming with a tool belt. So I assume you do construction.”

“I’m a foreman at my dad’s old company, he retired and they promoted me right away,” he answered bashfully, a blush creeping on his cheeks. “The youngest one the company ever saw actually.”

Everything was lighthearted and fun, at least from Zayn’s perspective. Learning about Liam and who he was as a person was intriguing. Finding out that he moved from Wolverhampton to London to pursue music originally and when that fell through he used his fall back plan of construction. Liam was never going to officially give up on music but knew it wasn’t going to be his career, just his lifelong passion. Zayn was stunned to learn that he had tattoos after he rolled up his sleeves once their food came. Lyrics from songs he wrote during uni, five chevrons to represent his family, whom he was extremely close with. He said he had more on his upper arm, his family crest and other things that represented who he was as a person.

“You got any?”

Zayn scoffed as he took off his jacket, both arms almost entirely covered in ink. “My chest and back too. I’m an artist so my body is my canvas. Some of it means absolutely nothing, drunk fun, and some of it means the world to me.”

Liam gently grabbed Zayn’s arm and just observed the ink. Everything was in black and grey but the ZAP stood out in massive color. “Drunk fun?”

“Me and me best mate Louis,” he began with a laugh trying to ignore the goosebumps on his forearm as Liam touched him. “It was an inside joke that neither of us really remember but it’s us.”

“I like it,” he concluded, thumbing over the ink once more before moving his hand.

The night was moving on smoothly, the conversation easily following even after they both finished their food and ordered dessert and devoured that as well. Cell phones were buzzing in their pockets, friends and family clambering for updates on the night all going ignored, the city of London flying by outside the window beside them. It was just Zayn and Liam, Liam and Zayn, nothing was getting in between the two of them, especially when Zayn mentioned he worked for Marvel comics. That started a whole new conversation that seemed like would never end, neither of them minding. They were getting glances from other customers who came and went while they still sat at the booth and talked and talked.

Liam tried to stifle a yawn and laughed when Zayn caught him, raising an eyebrow at him. “Long day tomorrow. Up and out the flat by half passed five.”

“I have a five a.m. deadline,” he sympathized. “Coffee and my stubborn nature will power me through it.”

“Can I walk you home?” Liam shyly asked as he stood up and put on his jacket, Zayn doing the same.

Zayn nodded, grabbing Liam’s hand fiercely and leading their way toward his flat. A short walk home led to their first silent moments of the night. They didn’t run out of things to say, it was just reality had hit them and things were now real. They had spent close to three hours getting to know each other even when it felt more like a reintroduction. The air was crisp, the sun was setting when they got at the diner, and the moon was faintly seen above the skyline. People were still bustling around, the life in a big city in the middle of the week and the end of the night.

“This is me,” Zayn told Liam, pointing to the five story building he stood in front of. “I’m the top flat, it’s a loft actually.”

“I-I had a good time tonight,” Liam said hesitantly, hoping internally that Zayn felt the same. “Gotta thank Niall for the introduction.”

“I had a good time too,” Zayn echoed his sentiments, smiling. “We can do it again this weekend if you want, watch a movie or something.”

Liam earnestly nodded, a little too enthusiastically for his liking. “Tha-that sounds good to me.”

“Good,” Zayn laughed, slowly, carefully pulling Liam closer to himself. “I don’t usually kiss on the first date but can I kiss you?”

“Yes please,” he blushed, biting at his full bottom lip. 

Zayn took his free hand and put it behind Liam’s head as he moved closer and hesitantly brushed their lips together. He let out an embarrassing sigh when their lips touched but kissed him again, this time with more eagerness. Zayn sucked on Liam’s bottom lip, extracting noises from Liam which he wanted to hear over and over again as he wondered what other noises he’d make. Zayn knew he was jumping ahead of himself but he could still imagine. Liam gripped at Zayn’s jacket with his left hand, pulling him in closer, sighing each time their lips barely parted. 

“I’ve gotta go,” Liam said regrettably, pulling himself away from Zayn but resting his forehead on his. “Buzzkill, I know.”

“Responsible,” Zayn teased, still firmly holding Liam’s hand. “You’ve got my number, text me, call me, slide into my dm’s or whatever these kids do these days.”

Liam let out a bellowing laugh, his shoulders moving with the laugh. “Will do.”

“Take care Liam,” Zayn whispered, kissing his lips once more quickly. 

“Take care Zayn.”


End file.
